Escape from an Evil Wish
by Bobisnotmyrealname
Summary: Alternate version of events after S6,E10, when Regina is in the wish realm with Emma. Emma and Regina are trying to find a way to escape the wish realm, while David, Snow, Henry, and Hook attempt to get them back. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _This is not good. This is so not good._ Emma was thinking to herself frantically as the arrow pivoted from her head to Regina's. Glancing over her shoulder, Emma saw that the portal was beginning to close. Their time was running out.

"Regina! We have to go NOW!" she screamed at her friend. But she wasn't even sure that Regina could hear her. She was staring at the man holding the bow and arrow. Robin Hood. "Regina! It's not him. Remember what you said, he's not real! We have to go, the portal's closing!" But again, her shouts seemed to fall on deaf ears. Emma reached over and attempted to grab Regina's hand to drag her through the portal behind her, but as her fingers closed on her arm, the loud whooshing sound that represented the portal suddenly stopped.

Emma's breath caught in her throat and she looked over her shoulder again to see only dirt and ground as it had been before. The portal was closed. They lost their chance. She closed her eyes and released Regina's arm. The former queen hadn't moved and was still staring at Robin Hood.

The arrow was still pivoting between the two of them, and Robin said, "hand over all your money and jewels, now."

"Robin," Regina began, finally taking a step forward, and the arrow shot back to aim at her. He looked at her with confusion on his face. "Do I know you?" he asked. He sounded like he did faintly recognize her but couldn't place it.

"Regina, he doesn't know you here," Emma said. She held her hands out toward Robin as if in surrender, but then making a split decision, Emma waved one hand and his bow and arrow disappeared out of his hands and reappeared in her own. He blinked in surprise and then at her.

"You have magic," he said and Emma knew it wasn't meant to be a question. Then he looked at Regina, and his eyes widened in sudden recognition. "The Evil Queen!" he exclaimed and he took a step back in shock. "But you're the princess, unless I miss my guess, what are you doing with _her_ and since when do you have magic?" it all came out in a flood of words, as if saying all his thoughts and questions quickly would get him out of danger. He took another step back and tripped over a rock. He landed with a _thud_ on his back, grunting, but he quickly raised his hands in surrender to both of them. "I'm sorry!" he stammered, still speaking quickly, "I didn't know who – I mean – I thought you were… Please don't hurt me. I have a son!"

"We're not going to hurt you," Emma said exasperated, rolling her eyes. She threw the bow and arrow on the ground, and passed Regina who was still staring at the thief and hadn't said a word apart from his name since he'd shown up. She reached down and held out a hand to Robin. "Call me Emma. And you clearly recognize Regina."

Confused, Robin hesitantly took her hand and stood up. "The Evil Queen. How is this possible? I thought she was…" he trailed off.

"Locked up?" Emma provided. Robin nodded. "Yea, well… the Evil Queen _is_ locked up. This is Regina. She's…" Emma hesitated, unsure how to explain. "Well, it's complicated," she finished knowing that it wouldn't be enough. Sure enough, Robin looked both confused and unconvinced.

"I don't understand," he finally managed. Emma nodded, expecting nothing less. Robin and Regina were staring at each other now.

"Robin," came Regina's breathy voice again. Emma turned to see Regina stepping forward, hand outstretched. Robin didn't move, but Emma saw him flinch when Regina caressed his face. Regina, seeing this too, lowered her hand sadly.

Robin looked like he was trying to maintain his grip on reality and when Regina lowered her arm, he stared at her. He knew it was a gentle and loving touch. Not something an Evil Queen would do to someone who'd just tried to rob her. "So, you're _not_ the Evil Queen, then?" he finally managed to say after an awkward minute of silence.

Emma felt the need to suddenly be somewhere else, like she was intruding on an intimate moment. And maybe she was. She took a step back and turned back to where the portal had vanished. Now they had to find another way home. Her family was back there, and Killian. She didn't want to have to be separated from them again. And yet, here she was, once again apart from those she loved.

"No," Regina said. Emma tried not to listen, and yet, couldn't stop herself.

"Why did she say I wasn't real?" Robin suddenly asked. Emma turned to see him pointing at her.

"Oh, that… well, umm…" Emma began but then a shout sounded behind her.

"Face me villain!" Prince Henry shouted running forward brandishing a sword. He'd been getting good at being a knight lately. Emma smiled to herself, but then had to force herself to remember that none of those memories, nor this Henry, were real.

"Henry, stop!" Emma commanded. Henry stepped in front of Emma, but he seemed unsure whether he should point his sword at Regina or Robin.

"Have either of them hurt you, mother?" he asked without turning.

"Henry, stop this," Regina said.

"How did you escape your prison? I hope you're prepared to go back there now!" he said fiercely, finally deciding to keep his sword on Regina. The tip of it was dangerously close to her throat.

"Ok, that's enough," Emma said, growing tired of the idiocy of this world. She waved her hand again and the sword vanished from Henry's hand and reappeared next to Robin's bow on the ground. Henry gasped and spun to face his mother.

"Mom, what happened?"

"Henry," she said carefully. She was embarrassed to say that she had to look up to face him since he was taller than her now. "Listen to me, this is not the Evil Queen."

"She killed the King and Queen! She killed my grandparents!" he shouted. And then he blinked, as if only then remembering what had happened. "And you, you went with her! Who are you? You're not my mother!" He took several frightened steps back, bumping into Robin. Emma had been acting on instinct when she'd frozen him, she must have only frozen his body, and not his mind. He'd seen their interactions.

"I am your mother," Emma said sternly. She looked up at Regina, brain working fast, "and now, _I_ am the Queen."

"Emma," Regina said. "They're never going to understand what's going on here." She sounded like she was in pain. She probably was, Emma realized. Her son and Robin had both just called her the Evil Queen. But that's not who she was anymore. And Emma was not about to let her loved ones think of her that way, real or not.

Emma waved a hand and both Robin and Henry were frozen in invisible bonds. She left them enough freedom to listen, speak, and move their heads, but she didn't want them running away. They both gasped and attempted to free themselves.

"Regina, if we're going to get home, we're going to need help, and I don't think Gold—Rumpelstiltskin is going to help again. We need allies, and who better to help us than them? A knighted prince and a prince of thieves make good allies," Emma said. "We need to explain."

"I'm sorry I caused us to miss the portal," Regina said, finally realizing her mistake. Emma nodded and then they both turned to Robin and Henry, still frozen.

"I order you to release us!" Henry said in a commanding tone.

"I am your mother, and also the Queen. You can't order me," Emma pointed out.

"My mother doesn't have magic," Henry shot back.

"Yea, well, now she does, kid," Emma said. She sighed and then went on, "Listen, I'm going to need you both to listen, and really _hear_ me. This is a long and complicated situation, and we're going to need your help to get out of it." They were both staring at her. "This… reality. It isn't real. Regina and I are really from a place called Storybrooke. My real mother and father – Snow White and Prince Charming –"

"King David!" Henry corrected her loudly.

"Prince Charming," Emma went on as if the interruption hadn't happened, "are still there, waiting for me. And so are you, Henry." He blinked at her. "In that land, Regina had split herself in two. One version became the good woman, friend, and hero you see here, Regina." Regina shot her a very grateful look. "And the other became the Evil Queen you both know. The intention had been to destroy the Evil Queen without harming Regina, who had become a good person despite her… past. But it didn't work, and the Evil Queen got free. She got her hands on a magic lamp and wished that I had never been the savior, which brought me here, essentially creating this reality."

"You're mad," Henry said quietly staring at his mother. "'Storybrooke?' 'Hero Regina?' 'Savior?'"

"Right, I should add that in reality, the Evil Queen _did_ cast the Dark Curse, which is what brought everyone to Storybrooke in the first place. I became the Savior in order to break the curse," Emma explained. Regina was watching both of the men, nodding.

Henry was staring at them both clearly thinking they were insane. Robin, however, looked curious, "And where am I in this fantasy world?"

" _This_ is the fantasy world. _This_ reality is the one that's not real," Emma cut in.

"Of course," he said patronizingly. Of course they didn't believe her. The story was insane and she knew it. "But assuming you're telling the truth, where am I? You both clearly know me."

Emma hesitated and glanced at Regina. Regina gazed at him with lost love in her eyes, "We…" she hesitated too, but then went on, "lost you. _I_ lost you."

"You?" Robin asked, confused and curious.

"We… we were…" Regina couldn't finish the sentence.

"Friends," Emma finished. "We were all friends. But… you were killed." Regina cast her a grateful look, clearly not having wanted to admit that they had been together.

"Was it a good death, at least?" he asked cheerfully. Henry gave him a look that clearly said he thought he was an idiot.

"You died saving me from Hades," Regina managed to say truthfully.

"Hades?" Henry cut in, curiosity getting the better of him. "The god of the Underworld?" Regina and Emma both nodded.

"You really believe this, don't you?" Robin asked.

"It's the truth," Emma said simply. Henry raised an eyebrow, clearly indicating his skepticism.

"I would have thought you'd be the first to believe us kid. You were always a believer," Emma said. Henry looked at her, with a unreadable expression on his face.

"I don't have time to live in a fantasy world. I am the Prince, and future king," Henry said proudly.

"Looks like our son is a bit different here," Emma said to Regina, who chuckled.

" _Our_ son?!" Henry exclaimed.

"Oh," Emma said, carefully. "Well, you see, in our world, I grew up believing that I was an orphan before I found out I was the savior. And when I had you, I didn't think I was ready to be a mother. So I gave you up for adoption, and Regina actually raised you until you were 10, when you came to find me to break the curse. Since then, we've both been your mothers."

Henry stared at her. "You gave me up?" he asked quietly.

She nodded sadly, but then looked at him sharply, "you believe me?"

"No," he said quickly, looking away, "You're clearly insane, whoever you are. Maybe some witch that the Evil Queen has trained and used a glamour to look like my mother. What did you do with my real mother?" His voice rose angrily with every word.

Emma sighed and she heard Regina echo her. They looked at each other, both asking the other what they wanted to do.

"Well, I believe you," Robin said cheerfully. They both stared at him.

"You do?" Regina asked at the same time that Emma said, "Seriously? I don't think even I would believe me."

"Indeed, only a fool would make up a story like that and expect to be believed, it's too ridiculous for it to be a lie. A lie would be much more believable. Therefore, it must be the truth," Robin explained more to Henry than the others. Emma felt her eyes go wide, but she waved her hand and released Robin from his bonds.

He breathed easier, as though he'd been holding his breath the entire time, but he nodded graciously at her. The three of them looked at Henry.

"Henry, we need your help, please believe us," Emma said. He looked at them consideringly, and then he looked at Robin Hood.

"You really believe them?" he asked.

"Yes, I've seen my share of true villains. These two are not like them," he said smiling.

"And who are you?" he asked.

"Robin of Locksley, at your service, my Prince," he bowed.

"Ten minutes ago, he was robbing us because you were the Princess. Now it's 'my Prince,'" Regina said to Emma in a carrying whisper.

"Sounds like the Robin I knew," Emma shot back, a grin on her face.

Robin glanced at them, having heard the exchange, a small knowing grin on his face, but Henry stared daggers at the other man, "Robin of Locksley? You mean, Robin Hood, don't you? The thief?"

"Don't hold that against me, young master. I do what I have to do," Robin said. Henry scoffed, but Emma and Regina laughed.

Seeing Henry's face, Emma stopped laughing and looked at him, "Henry, listen to me, remember when you were little and I was explaining why you didn't have a dad?" Emma asked. He looked at her surprised, but then nodded. "I was telling you how your dad was a brilliant hero and he died saving the kingdom and you said you'd wish you'd known him?" He nodded again. "Well, you did know your real dad. In my world, after you brought me to Storybrooke, we refound him too. _He_ showed you how to be a hero."

"My father is alive there?" he asked, forgetting to be skeptical.

Emma felt a pang. "No, he died a hero in that reality too. Just, several years later, but wouldn't it have been nice to know him? If you help us, that reality will become real again, and you'll get to remember him," Emma said hopefully.

"Uh, Emma?" Regina said quietly. So quietly that Henry couldn't hear. "You know that our reality is still going on, that this Henry isn't real."

"I know that," Emma said, just as quietly, "but we need his help." Regina nodded and Emma turned back to Henry who'd been trying to listen unsuccessfully. He didn't ask what they were saying.

"So, you don't think that I'm real?" he asked coming to the correct conclusion anyway. _Damn!_ "And if I'm not real, and none of this is real, you just need a way to get home?" Emma and Regina nodded. "Fine, I'll help, but not because I believe you. Because I'm curious to hear about this other world where I knew my father."

Emma released the binding spell and Henry relaxed.

"So what do we do now?" Regina said, eyeing Henry, but directing the question at Emma.

"I'm not sure, another bean might be difficult to come by, but what other portals are there?" Emma asked.

"There aren't many: beans, those silver slippers, but those are in Oz, and I so don't want to deal with this reality's Zelena. Jefferson's hat, but he's probably in Wonderland, as is the white rabbit. Can't exactly ask a mermaid to carry us underwater… What about the sorcerer's wand?" Regina said hopefully. "Any idea where the apprentice is in this reality? Is he still alive?" Henry and Robin were looking from one to the other with amazed looks on their faces.

"Dead," Emma said regretfully. "Your evil twin killed him in this reality before the war ended."

Regina growled in her throat, but then said, "What about the wand? Any idea what happened to it?"

Emma shrugged, "no idea. Magic wasn't something that really concerned me before today, or rather, in this version of events." Emma felt herself cringing and raised a hand to her head. " Oh man, now between my real history, this version of events, and the false memories you gave me about raising Henry, I have three different sets of memories. What a nightmare." Regina scowled at her, and Emma smiled back adding, "Just saying…"

"Going back to the discussion," Regina said pointedly. "Maybe we should try to find the Apprentice's cottage and do a search?"

"Don't you think Rumpelstiltskin probably cleared the place out the second the Apprentice died?" Emma pointed out.

"He was still in that prison cell when I got here, so I don't think he would have been free to do that," Regina said.

Emma raised her eyebrows thoughtfully, "you might be right, but—"

She was cut off by Robin Hood, "This 'Apprentice' that you both speak of…" They looked at him and waited for him to continue. "He wouldn't be an old man who lived in the woods by himself, and had a penchant for collecting brooms?" Emma stared at him, but then nodded. "And this wand, green with vines curling around it and a spherical end covered in carved flowers?" Regina and Emma both nodded, getting excited. "I'm sorry to disappoint you both, but the wand was stolen shortly after the old man was killed."

"Stolen? By who?" Regina asked, suspiciously.

"By myself," he said, grinning.

"So you already have it?" Emma exclaimed excitedly.

"Afraid not," he continued, grin fading. "I had meant to use it to save my wife from execution, but before I could, it was stolen from me too." Emma cursed and looking at Regina, she caught a guilty look on her face. She had been the one to sentence Marion to execution, and she was sure that Robin knew that. His eyes had found hers but there did not seem to be any hate or resentment there. The man certainly didn't hold a grudge. It was impressive. Emma noticed that while Henry had been remaining silent, he'd been listening intently.

"Do you know who stole it from you?" Emma asked, turning her attention back to the thief.

"A one-handed pirate," Robin said immediately, expecting the question.

"Oh hell," Regina muttered and Emma felt her heart skip a beat. She knew what was coming.

"Did this pirate have a hook, dark hair, and long leather jacket?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.

Robin seemed surprised, but nodded, "Indeed he did, your Highness. I believe he's known as-"

"Captain Hook," Emma finished quietly. "Killian."

"I swear to god, Emma, if Captain Guyliner causes us trouble, I'll kill you both," Regina said, sounding annoyed.

Emma felt a stab of annoyance, "This coming from you? We wouldn't be in this mess, if you'd had your wits about you and jumped through the portal with me when we had the chance."

Regina had the good grace to look ashamed, "Okay, okay. So both of our…" her eyes shot to Robin, " _friends_ are now involved. How do we find your pirate?"

" _Your_ pirate?" Henry asked, finally saying something.

"I have a good idea where to start," Emma said, answering Regina's question. To Henry, she added, "I'll explain on the way." And with that she turned and started walking back to her castle, the others following in her wake.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

David opened his eyes and looked sadly at his sleeping wife. She looked peaceful and he longed to kiss her and wake her up, but he knew that would only result in his own sleeping curse. It was 8pm and it was time for him to start his sheriff duties anyway. Fighting the urge to kiss her again, he got up and checked on Neal. Neal seemed fast asleep for the time being and hopefully he would sleep through the night. Either way, he'd had to ask the dwarfs to watch him through the nights, since he couldn't be there.

He walked into the kitchen to find a note in Snow's handwriting telling him that she loved him and that they would get through this. He smiled sadly, and found a plate of chicken and potatoes in the microwave waiting for him. The coffee was already brewed too. She always took care of him, even if they couldn't be together. He fought the tears that formed in his eyes as he got ready for work. It didn't take him long and before he was ready to leave, Bashful had arrived with a handful of books. He never knew which dwarf would be coming each night; they took it in turns along with Granny to babysit Neal while Snow slept and he patrolled. Of course, the dwarfs called it "Guard Duty for the Prince," but it was the same thing, really.

He thanked the dwarf before he left, as usual, and added that he could take whatever he wanted from the fridge. Bashful nodded shyly and bowed as David left, holstering his gun and grabbing his jacket and keys. He sipped his coffee as he drove to the sheriff's station and listened to the radio at a quiet volume, not feeling fully awake just yet. The type of sleep one got from a sleeping curse wasn't exactly peaceful.

He missed his wife. He missed his daughter. He felt very alone at the moment, and most of the time, he didn't even get to see much of Henry either since he had taken the night shift. He didn't see much of anyone anymore. He pulled into his reserved spot, his old truck groaning a little as he turned it off and got out. As he walked into the sheriff's station, he found Hook sitting at Emma's desk, feet up. At Snow's request, Hook had agreed to help David police the town. David had been annoyed to discover this upon waking a week back, but agreed that he needed the help with Emma gone, and this kept Hook busy and out of trouble. David suspected, however, that Hook spent most of his time either mourning over Emma's absence, or trying to find ways to bring her home. In truth, he had spent some of his own time doing the same thing, only in addition to trying to find ways to bring Emma home, he was also trying to find ways to break the curse that he and Snow shared.

Noticing that he had arrived, Hook took his feet off the desk and stood up, not really bothering to hide how he'd been sitting.

"Anything to report?" David asked, trying to veil his annoyance with the pirate.

"Slow day, mate," Hook said. "Did you sleep well?"

David scowled at the man and said, "it's a cursed sleep, Hook. Not quite as restful as one might think." David was tempted to ask if Hook had found any way to reach Emma, but he knew that if Hook had, he wouldn't have been here, and it would have been the first thing he'd said if he had.

"Right," Hook said. He seemed sad. And, David supposed, he probably was. It was still hard to grasp that this man could love his daughter so fiercely; that he could love anything so fiercely. He'd had to admit to himself that the pirate had changed in the years that he'd known him and he almost liked him now. Almost. Not that David could really like any man that was living with his daughter. Especially a leather clad, one-handed pirate. But Emma loved him, and he supported his daughter, so he tried to like the pirate to the best of his ability. "I guess I'll head home now and get some sleep myself. G'nite, mate."

Hook walked past David and was almost out of sight when he stopped suddenly and said, "Whoa, lad. What's the hurry?" David turned to see Henry running into the room, panting slightly.

"There's something going on at Grandpa's shop!" he said breathlessly. Hook and David's eyes met and they both took off after Henry, who led the way. The shop was only a block away and they arrived there in short order. There did appear to be some sort of commotion going on inside.

Not letting Henry go in first, Hook crashed through the door and stopped suddenly. David, rushing in behind him, crashed into his back and fell sideways. "What the—" he began, but then he realized it. Hook couldn't move, and David couldn't either. Something was holding them in place. He could only move his eyes and what he saw confused him greatly. The shop was in shambles. The glass cases were shattered and broken, with glass shards littering the floor. There were papers and random items from inside the cases strewn everywhere. Belle was crouching behind what remained of the case that the register used to sit on, and Gold and a young man in a black robe were throwing magic at each other. One of them, David wasn't sure which, was holding him and Hook in place while he continued to fight the other. David was glad to see that Henry hadn't come into the shop behind them.

"Stop this!" Belle shouted. She didn't seem to be held in place, and the two men ignored her, continuing their fight, occasionally throwing objects at the other magically, or even throwing punches. Gold was snarling, but the other man seemed calm. He looked young, maybe mid-20s, but David didn't recognize him. "Please!" Belle begged.

Suddenly, both men were thrown away from each other and everything settled. Both were standing upright, staring at the other, but neither moved. David wasn't sure what happened but suddenly, he realized, he could move again. Breathing a sigh of relief, he and Hook stepped further into the shop. Belle stood up too, looking from one man to the other.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on here?" David asked authoritatively. He looked from one man to the other, and when neither answered, glanced to Belle.

"Well, I… he…" she stammered, indicating the young man, but then Gold spoke up.

"Release me," Gold snarled to the other man. For the first time, the other man's calm face changed to surprise.

"I cannot move either, Dark One," he said, sounding equally confused.

Henry stepped into the shop, a small book in one hand and the Author's Quill in the other. "I didn't want to use this, but I didn't see another way to stop you both." So Henry had broken up the fight, clever kid. _He's not really a kid anymore_ , David had to remind himself. "If you'll both promise to stop fighting, I'll let you both move again." He held up the Quill half generously, half threateningly.

"Agreed," the strange man said.

"Agreed," Gold said grudgingly. Nodding, Henry quickly wrote a sentence, and both men breathed easier and tested their freedom of movement.

"Now, someone feel like explaining?" David asked again, more angrily than before at having to repeat himself. "Who is this man?" he added indicating the robed magician.

"My name is Gideon," the man said, calm returning to his face.

"Liar," Gold sneered.

"Believe what you want, but it is the truth, father," Gideon said.

David stared. Behind him, he knew that Hook and Henry were staring too. Belle was also looking at the man, but her face was difficult to read. Suspicion and doubt were there, but so was fear and guilt.

Hook was the first to recover, "Do you mean to tell us, mate, that you are _their_ ," he motioned to Gold and Belle, "son? That's not possible."

"Oh, it's quite possible, I assure you," Gideon said, still calm. "You see, I was raised with my grandmother, and she lives somewhere where time is… quite different." Gold growled and Belle made a small sound like a sob. David still couldn't fathom the situation. How could that newborn boy be here, with magic, and trying to kill his parents. It made no sense. But, then, his daughter was the same age as he, so maybe it was possible. He hoped for both Gideon and Belle's sake that it wasn't true. He knew what that was like and didn't wish it on anyone.

"'Your grandmother?'" Henry asked curiously. "Who's your grandmother?"

"Doesn't matter," Gold said, stepping forward. "This is not my son."

"Oh, but you see, I am your son. Your mother wanted to make sure that she got a hold of me, raise me the way she couldn't raise you, and she did, and she taught me all sorts of things that even the Dark One can't imagine," he grinned at the older man.

"But why?" David asked. "Gold, who's your mother?" Gold practically hissed, instead of answering.

"You would know her as the Black Fairy," Gideon said, not taking his eyes off his father. David and Hook both took a step back. Gold – Rumpelstiltskin growled again and Belle made a distressed sound.

"But you can't be our son… you just… can't be," Belle said, her accent ringing through the room.

Gideon looked at her, a bit sadly, "You know me, mother. You've known me since the minute I walked in the room." Belle didn't respond, but tears were running down her face now.

David was still trying to comprehend it all. Gideon was stolen from the Blue Fairy by the Black Fairy, who is apparently Rumpelstiltskin's mother? His head was spinning and he shook it.

"So, does that mean I'm part fairy?" Henry asked suddenly, looking at Gold. There was an awkward silence that followed these words while everyone slowly looked at Henry. He had a conflicted look on his face.

"Who are you?" Gideon finally asked.

"I guess, if you really are their son, I would be your nephew. Mr. Gold is my grandfather on my dad's side," Henry explained.

"She never mentioned that he had another son," Gideon said quietly, more to himself than Henry. He sounded conflicted.

"I'm sure she told you many things. All lies, no doubt," Gold said through gritted teeth. "You must know that if you really are my son, you cannot trust the Black Fairy. She is a liar and a villain."

"Look who's talking," David heard Hook say under his breath. Henry cast Hook a look too, but no one else seemed to have heard him.

"So, wait," David said to Gold, "are you saying that you are the son of Peter Pan _and_ the Black Fairy? My god, no wonder you became so…" he trailed off not finishing the sentence, feeling his face go red. Gold looked at him, his face unreadable, but then his gaze went back to his son.

"You want to kill me, fine. You can go to the back of the _very_ long line of like-minded people. Maybe you and the Captain here can start a club," Gold said sarcastically. Hook narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. Gold went on, "Sherriff, if you don't mind taking this man into custody, I believe he has threatened the life of myself and Belle. Unless, you want to write him back into a baby, Henry?"

Gideon blinked and looked at Henry, uncertainly. How much did he know about Henry? He didn't know they were related, clearly, but did he know about the Author? Henry wouldn't do that of course, he was too smart for that, and knew it would go against his duty as the Author. Henry addressed his other grandfather. "I will not. I swore I would only record, not change. I only used the quill to stop the two of you from killing each other or Belle," he said.

"Very well, I'll take care of him," Gold said. And before anyone else could do anything, Gold had waved his hand and they were all back at the sheriff station, Gideon in one of the cells. "I hope you don't mind," Gold said to David, "but I've taken the liberty of sealing the cell with magic so he cannot break out. Feel free to ask him questions, I'm done with him."

"Wait a minute," Belle said, but then Gold waved his hand again and he and Belle were gone, leaving Hook, David, and Henry in the station with Gideon. Hook sighed, sounding annoyed but then walked over to the cell, looking curiously at Gideon. The other man said nothing, appearing as though he was exactly where he wanted to be.

"Do you need anything?" David asked him, coming to stand next to Hook. "Water, food?"

"I require nothing," he said looking back at them all. Then he looked at Henry, "And you. My nephew, you say? I was not aware that I had a brother. Where is he?"

Henry stepped up next to the others, regarding the man. "Dead," he said simply.

"And his name?"

Narrowing his eyes, Henry said, "He was originally named Baelfire, but my mother and I knew him as Neal."

Gideon looked thoughtful. "Baelfire, curious name. Strong name. Neal, on the other hand is even more curious. It means passionate, but also champion. There are also derisions of the name that could mean cloud. He died well, I'm guessing?" They all stared at him, eventually Henry nodded. "Yes, I thought so. Not much like our father, I'm guessing either. To go from Baelfire to Neal would mean to me that he was a man who was split in his life. Who fought hard to hide the fire that burned within, but couldn't. He was strong, but loved with his all his soul, often leading to heartbreak in his life. I have no doubt that he loved our father. But he was destined to die. Everyone is, of course, eventually, but his was always going to be a meaningful death. He died to protect those he loved. To be their Champion as it were. Yes, a curious name, and an important one." He stopped talking, a thoughtful look on his face. The three men outside the cell continued to stare at him.

How could he possibly know so much about Neal but claim to not have known anything about him. _Names_. Rumpelstiltskin always had a thing about names too. Maybe that was something he got from his mother, who passed it on to this man as well.

Coming out of his reverie, Gideon looked at the others again, "And may I ask what your names are? I promise that I mean you no harm. I'm here for the Dark One, no one else."

The three of them hesitated. Finally, Henry spoke, "I'm Henry. Henry Mills."

"Henry – ruler of the home. You must be very important. Vital, in fact, not just to this town or your family, but to the world. I noticed that you carry the Author's Quill, Henry. I wasn't aware that the mantel of the Author had been passed on. Clearly there is much I do not know about this place and its people. You are young to have been chosen as the Author. I look forward to getting to know you, my nephew," Gideon said. He was incredibly calm, and inquisitive. If he hadn't seen it for himself, David never would have guessed that this man just tried to kill Gold. "Mills," Gideon continued. "Would that be in relation to Cora Mills?"

"Her daughter Regina is my mom," Henry said slowly.

"Regina. You mean the Evil Queen?"

"She's _not_ the Evil Queen anymore. That part of her is… well," Henry trailed off.

"A viper?" Gideon finished knowingly.

"How did you know that?" David cut in sharply.

"Because I'm the one who turned her into one. I did not want the Evil Queen getting in my way, and it was clear to both of us that she would be the one to give me the most trouble once I went after my father. I had thought she seemed incomplete. You say 'part of her,' so I can only assume that Regina has split herself from the Evil Queen. So, Regina had a son… curious, I was under the impression that Regina could not have children," Gideon phrased the last almost as a question but not quite.

"She's my adopted mom," Henry corrected his original statement.

"I see, and your birth mother? Who is she?"

"I don't see that any of this has to do with anything," Hook suddenly cut in, sounding defensive to David's ears. And he understood. Gideon understood too much simply by hearing a person's name. He wasn't sure he wanted this man to know Emma's name. What would he be able to glean from hers? From his? Gideon eyed the pirate up and down.

"Captain Hook, I take it?" Gideon said, glancing at his hook, a small smile on his face. Hook blinked in surprise.

"Do you know me?" Hook asked warily, eyes narrowing.

Gideon's smile widened, just slightly. "I've come across your name in my research of the Dark One."

"You've researched your father enough to know Hook, but you didn't know that he had another son?" Henry asked skeptically.

"I was researching Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One. Not Rumpelstiltskin, the man. I know very little about his life as a man, it was not something I needed to know about. Until now, it seems," he said. His eyes shifted back to Hook.

"So… Captain Hook, Killian Jones. You were an interesting person to read about. Consumed by a thirst for vengeance about the killing of a woman by the Dark One. Driven by a fierce desire to kill him for centuries, so I understand it. Killian, meaning strife or battle. You are at war, not only with the Dark One, but within yourself. Driven by vengeance, you sailed head first into the darkness until you were almost consumed. Almost. But you have an honor, a goodness about you too, that is constantly fighting to get out. Like my brother, you've known love, and loss, and when you love, you love deeply, so deeply in fact that the darkness gets driven away. You must love Henry's birth mother, or you wouldn't have said anything when I asked about her. It would also explain why you aren't trying to kill the Dark One yourself at the present. Because you care for this young man," he nodded to Henry and continued, "and his mother. And since the Dark One is Henry's grandfather, you've put your need for revenge away. For now."

Hook growled at the man, but David knew there was nothing he could say to contradict the man, no matter how much he wanted to. He was right of course. Hook did love Emma. Deeply. And it had driven the darkness out of him, turning him into a good man. Again, he had determined that much from a simple name and just a few minutes with Hook. He didn't want this man knowing Emma's name. Nor his own, he realized.

As if reading his thoughts, Gideon's eyes finally shifted to David. David wasn't going to say anything, to give anything away about himself. This man made him both uncomfortable and nervous. He didn't say anything at first, his eyes just studying David. His face, his clothes, the way he stood.

"And the Sheriff. You, I'm curious about. You seem to be in charge, and the others seem to defer to you, if only slightly. You carry a weapon, although not the weapon you're used to, unless I miss my guess. A prince, or a king from the Enchanted forest, I think. You also seem protective of the Author, so you have some relationship to him as well. Another uncle perhaps?" David had to stop himself from smiling at his being wrong for the first time. "Or perhaps not. You wear a wedding ring, but your face is sad. Another one who's lost love? And recently. But not so recent that you are in mourning, or you would not be here… Unless, you feel the sense of duty so strongly that you feel you cannot let grief stop you from being a leader," he was watching David's face as he spoke. David tried not to show any reactions, but he knew that he had confirmed some of Gideon's guesses. He didn't like this man, he decided. And he certainly didn't trust him. "Yes, I think that's right. Even if you were in the deepest of grief, you would not neglect your duties. Definitely royalty. And an honorable one. One who protects his people. And you are beloved by your people, _charming_ them with your very presence."

David felt his eyes widen at the word, unnerved by his emphasis of it. A coincidence he told himself, it had to be. Based on the looks he was getting from Henry and Hook, they had noticed it too. David had had enough and without saying another word to the man, he turned and went into Emma's office. Hook and Henry followed close behind him. Hook closed both doors so they could talk privately.

"Well, that was creepy," Henry said before either of the others said anything. David still felt uneasy, glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Gideon had sat down on the cot, but was still watching them. He looked back at the others. Their eyes kept glancing back to the other man too.

"What are we supposed to do with him?" Hook asked quietly. "We can't keep him here indefinitely. And I don't much fancy the idea of him watching me whenever I'm here." The man had a point. What _were_ they going to do with him? At least one question had been answered; what had happened to the Evil Queen. Why would Gold's son and mother want to kill him? _Maybe because they'd met him?_ a small voice in his head answered. He shooed it away.

"I don't know," David said. "I think we need to talk to Gold. Like you said, we can't keep him here forever."

"Maybe we could find out why he wants to kill Grandpa," Henry suggested. Then his face lit up, "That's it!" They both stared at him. "If we help Grandpa, maybe he can help us find my moms. And even how to break your curse with Grandma! He still has the sorcerers wand."

"But he can't use it, it requires light and dark magic to wield. Only the Wicked Witch has ever been able to use it," Hook pointed out.

"Well, maybe if we make a deal with him about his son, he'll give us the wand and Zelena can help us," Henry said, still excited.

"No, we don't need to make a deal with him to help him figure out his son. We already saved his life. You Henry, saved his life when you broke up their fight. And you might've saved Belle's too. He'll give us the wand. He owes us," David said angrily.

Hook nodded in agreement. "Let's go talk to the Crocodile, and save Emma and your wife," he said fiercely. Almost as an afterthought, glancing at Henry, he added, "And Regina."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Emma slowly walked into her castle. The dwarfs were in chaos and swarmed her like flies when she came back. Sleepy had been guarding the entrance, and asleep as usual. Both of her parents had told them not to put him on guard duty without someone else. _No, they didn't, that is a false memory!_ she told herself firmly. She told them that she needed to hold conference and that she would not say more until they were in their private receiving room. Grumpy had run off to find Granny, Red, and Jiminy. It had taken some time, but she'd managed to convince Regina to put a glamour spell on her face so that she didn't cause a riot.

Prince Henry was frowning at Regina's new face. She didn't look like anyone they knew now, and was supposedly a witness to the King and Queen's deaths. They'd agreed that they would tell the truth about that, or part of it. But they also decided to claim that Emma and Henry had defeated the Evil Queen, with the help of Regina (now going by Gina) and Robin, and locked her back up. They also agreed to warn the others that Rumpelstiltskin was now loose, having been freed by the Evil Queen. Regina had scowled at that, but agreed. Emma was Queen now, and the others would have to accept that. She tried to act as a Queen in mourning of her mother and father's deaths, but she wasn't sure how to do that, knowing the truth of the matter. She hoped that her reaction would pass as shock. Prince Henry was little help, looking stony faced and angry instead of grieving.

When they arrived to the receiving room, Emma seated herself in her mother's usual chair, earning herself some concerned looks from the dwarfs. In short order, Grumpy arrived with the others, and they all took their seats. Regina and Robin sat where Emma and Prince Henry used to, and Henry had taken King David's seat, again receiving fearful looks from the others.

To the point. "My mother and father, Queen Snow and King David are dead," she said. There was a shocked silence following her words and Red gasped and started to cry into Granny's shoulder. Almost as one, they took their hats off.

The reactions of the dwarfs varied. Happy and Doc both looked broken-hearted; Happy's usual smile being replaced by the deepest of frowns, and Doc removed his glasses to wipe at his eyes with his sleeve. Bashful looked stricken. Sneezy sneezed and then started to cry. Sleepy looked wide awake for the first time that Emma could recall, cursed or not. Dopey just stared. "How could this happen?" Grumpy said, sounding angry instead of grief-stricken.

"The Evil Queen took their hearts and crushed them," she said, trying not to look at Regina. All eyes were on Emma, and most of them were filled with tears.

Jiminy chirped and hopped unto Emma's arm saying, "I'm so sorry your majesty. The kingdom will feel this loss forever." His high pitched chirping voice rang sadly in her ears.

"We will not stand for this!" Grumpy erupted, standing up, his chair flying backward. "The Evil Queen will pay for what she has done."

"The Evil Queen has already been recaptured," Emma continued calmly. Several mouths dropped open and she heard Jiminy quietly ask how. They clearly thought she wasn't capable of defeating the Evil Queen herself. And maybe Princess Emma hadn't been. She cringed internally, remembering how disgustingly weak that woman had been. Not Emma Swan at all. "With the help of my son, and these two heroes," she nodded to Regina and Robin, "we were able to return the Queen to her banishment. She was weakened after all these years in isolation and could do little more than rip out hearts. And it appears that that was all she wanted to begin with."

The others all looked to Regina and Robin in amazement, then to Henry and back to Emma who continued, "However, there are some unfortunate consequences. The Evil Queen managed to free the Dark One from his prison, and we were not able to recapture him." More silence filled the room as this announcement sunk in. "It is unclear what he plans, if anything, but I think we should all assume that he is at full strength. We should place the kingdom on high alert that the Dark One is now free, but also spread the word that the Evil Queen is no longer a problem. Good news/bad news situation, I guess."

They all looked at her curiously through their tears and shock, and she realized that she was talking like Emma Swan and not like Princess Emma. Whatever, she didn't really have time to worry over that.

"And what of Snow and David?" Red asked.

Emma looked at her, confused, not sure where she was going with this, "What about them?"

"When will we announce their deaths and funeral?" she amended her question, surprised by Emma's lack of feeling.

"And your coronation," Jiminy added in. Emma hadn't even thought of that. She knew that she'd had to tell these people what happened in order to find Killian – Captain Hook here – but it hadn't occurred to her that they would want to grieve and then raise her up formally. No time, there was no time for this. What if this reality was like the Author's fake book reality and it became real at some point. She had to get home to her family. Her real family.

"An announcement will be made, of course," Prince Henry suddenly cut in, eyeing Emma. "But I'm afraid that the coronation and funeral will need to be put on hold until we can resolve the issue of the Dark One, and recapture him." Emma had almost forgotten this part. They needed an excuse to be away from the castle and Rumpelstiltskin provided that excuse.

The other's looked like they were about to object but Emma spoke over them, "Henry is correct. These last 30 years have been peaceful and prosperous in the Enchanted Forest and as your new Queen, I'm not about to let that peace end. Prince Henry and I will be leaving the castle immediately in order to hunt this menace. Our new friends Robin and Gina have agreed to join us, having some experience with magic."

Protests erupted around the table immediately.

"You can't leave now…"

"You don't even really know these two…"

"What are you thinking? Your kingdom needs you…"

"Let us join you at least…"

"Let us go in your stead, we will hunt the Dark One down…"

She put up a hand and the voices stopped talking over one another. "This is my decision and it is final. I need you all here to protect the people, but this is something we must do alone. You are the only ones I trust to rule in my stead," she said firmly. "And no more arguments," she added to Grumpy who looked ready to start up again.

She met each eye stare for stare, all of them eventually nodding, until Jiminy spoke up, "Your Highness, please reconsider this plan. It is dangerous and you've never been outside the castle grounds alone before today." That was true, she realized disgustedly. Well, it was true for Princess Emma. She eyed the cricket… Archie was so much easier to talk to.

"I will hear no more on this; my mind is made up, and I will not be alone. My son, and these heroes will be with me. Also, as we will be going by sea, I intend to take a ship of the Royal Navy, so I will have those sailors for protection as well. Please do not worry for me, I will be alright. I promise," she said, again meeting every eye. "And we leave immediately, by nightfall if possible. You all have duties to perform, and tasks to complete. So, please do not delay us any further. Farewell, my friends," The dismissal was clear and they all stood up, the dwarfs and Jiminy bowing before they left. She felt guilty making them worry, but then she reminded herself that they weren't really real and it didn't matter. In the back of her mind, Princess Emma screamed at her that they did matter, and what she was doing was foolish and dangerous. She ignored it.

Regina sighed deeply, clearly relieved. The four of them stood up, nodding to one another, Robin with a small smile on his face, but before any of them could do or say anything, a small blue light appeared in the window and floated gracefully toward them.

"Your Highness, what is wrong? I sense a deep change in the world," the Blue Fairy hesitated and then looked at Emma, "and in you. You are not…" she stopped, eyes narrowing at Emma, then slowly, moving to Regina. Emma glanced at her friend to make sure that the glamour spell still held. Would it even work on a fairy? "Who are you?" she finally said to Regina.

Regina's eyes widened nervously, but Emma stepped in, "Blue, this is my new friend Gina. We have some bad news, I'm afraid…"

Blue listened carefully, as Emma told her the same story she'd told the others, but she noticed that Blue's eyes kept shifting back to Regina. She knew that Emma wasn't being completely truthful. Damn fairies and their damn intuition. Normally it was useful, but today it was frustrating.

"'Gina,'" the Blue Fairy said as though trying out the name. "I feel as though that is only half true, and there is magic about you, I sense." Emma and Regina shared nervous looks. "But I also sense that you are all doing what you feel is right…" she hesitated again and then glanced at Prince Henry. "Except you, my Prince. I sense that you are troubled and unsure. Your instincts are at war with your head, I fear." Robin, Regina, and Emma all looked at Henry, not sure how he would respond. He looked uncertain too and didn't say anything.

Suddenly the Blue Fairy looked at Emma sharply and exclaimed, "You have magic!" Emma felt her eyes widen, and the others stared at her. "You've never had magic before. You are not of this land, are you?" Just as suddenly, Blue became human sized and was staring at Emma half in fear, half in wonderment. Emma said nothing, so Blue walked over to her and took her hand. "You are Queen Emma, but you are also someone else. Your magic is the lightest I've ever seen, but you've known darkness too. Horrible darkness."

Regina's eyes went wide, knowing what the fairy was sensing. Emma wasn't sure how to react and just continued to stare at the fairy who seemed to hold her eyes. Robin and Prince Henry were staring at Emma, curiosity in one face and fear in the other.

"How is this possible?" the Blue Fairy finally said. "You both are and are not the Princess that I know. You have magic, and you were once filled with such darkness, and you both embraced it and rejected it for the same reason. This makes no sense. You are a contradiction, your Highness."

Suddenly, Regina was waving a hand and her glamour spell melted away. "Emma," she said, "you may as well tell her the truth. If she stops us because she doesn't believe our story, we'll only have more problems." The Blue Fairy finally released Emma's hand and looked at Regina.

She gasped, "The Evil Queen!" But then she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. "But no, you are not the Evil Queen. You _were_ , but no longer. You are Regina." It wasn't a question. Emma gave up on the charade, Regina was right. Waving her own hand, her princess dress transformed into jeans, a tee-shirt, and her old red leather jacket. She tested the feeling of the clothes, not realizing how much she'd missed them while she was the princess, not that she'd remembered them. Robin and Prince Henry stared at her changed clothes, and Prince Henry had a look on his face that indicated he thought they were indecent.

"My name is Emma Swan. Regina and I are from another world," Emma said. As quickly as she could, she explained their situation.

Blue took it all in stride, and nodded as though everything she said confirmed exactly what she had suspected. Henry was staring at the fairy now; when Emma finished and Blue was nodding thoughtfully, he burst out, "you _believe_ them?!"

Blue turned to him slowly and said, "yes, my Prince. Their story explains everything that I sensed about them that seemed wrong… except," she hesitated looking back at Emma, "the darkness. I've only sensed that kind of darkness from one being, but it is no longer in you, which I don't understand. What is that?"

Emma sighed, glancing at Henry and then Regina, "for a short time, I was the Dark One." A very prominent silence followed this statement. Robin and Henry were now both staring at her, matching looks of fear on their faces. Henry had even taken a step backward, hand going to his sword.

"How is this possible? You said that Rumpelstiltskin, your Mr. Gold, was still the Dark One in your land?" The Blue Fairy asked.

"He was, and he is. But there was a point where it appeared that he was going to die unless the darkness was removed from his body. By 'he' I mean the man, of course, the Dark One can't die. The last bit of light was vanishing from his heart, and we didn't want a pure Dark One on the loose. So we attempted to remove the darkness from his body and trap it in the Sorcerer's Hat, but it escaped and needed a new host. Not wanting anyone else to have to fight that kind of darkness," Emma's eyes flickered to Regina, who looked regretful, but grateful at the same time, "I took it into myself and became the Dark One. Long story short, we attempted to use Excalibur to destroy the darkness forever, but Gold tricked us, and took it back into himself."

The Blue Fairy stared at Emma. "I've never heard of anything like this. You must have incredible strength to have become the Dark One and yet still attempted to destroy the darkness within. I believe you, my Queen – Emma," she said, correcting herself and smiling. "You must leave soon, however, if you wish to find this wand you seek. You are right to fear being stuck here when you have a family to return to. I will help how I can. Here." She handed Emma a small vile of shimmering blue dust.

"Fairy Dust," Emma said wonderingly.

"You and Regina both have magic, but you never know when Fairy Dust may be useful in giving you a little something more _real_ ," she said. Emma thought she saw her eyes flicker to Robin, but then she thought she must have imagined it when in the next second, the fairy was staring back at her. "You do not go after the Dark One as you have told the others, but I fear he may impede your journey. Be vigilant, and travel swiftly. I will stay here and help the others manage the kingdom in your absence."

Suddenly, she smiled at the four people before her and waved her wand, a filled bag appeared next to each of them. "I've gathered what you will need on this journey for you and added some provisions. Good luck." With that, she sparkled into a small creature again and flew away.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Regina said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"So you were telling the truth after all," Prince Henry said quietly, more to himself. They all looked at him and he looked up, meeting each of their eyes, "I swear I will help you return home. If I am not real, and this land is not real, then it is my duty to ensure that you return to your homes." He took out his sword and kneeled before Emma, placing the sword tip on the floor tile in front of him, and holding the hilt in front of his face while he bowed his head. "I may not be your real son, but you are my mother, and my Queen. I will help you however I can. This I swear."

"Stand up, Henry," Emma said exasperatedly. He stood and replaced his sword in its sheath. "Well," Emma said, looking at the others, "I guess we head to the pier."

"Gold," Regina said to Emma.

"What about him?"

Regina chuckled softly, but then said, "No, I mean, we need gold – money. And you may want to transform back into Queen Emma so we can actually get that ship you talked about."

Emma groaned, but then waved her hand in acquiescence, finding herself in a red silk riding dress, a small tiara on her head, sitting in her hair which was now in curls wrapped around her head.. She found herself missing her gun, but knew she couldn't go armed… not openly anyway. Smoothly waving a second hand, she felt several knives appear in sheaths on her arms and legs. She smiled to herself at that. "Your face," she said to Regina, who matched Emma's groan. She waved her own hand, and Regina's eyes were looking out from the stranger's face once again. "Your clothes too, no sensible pant suits here," Emma smiled at her friend who glowered, but then changed her outfit to a simple blue riding dress that would pass for a wealthy merchant's outfit. Emma nodded, impressed. "Nice. I half expected to see an Evil Queen dress before your came to your senses," she teased.

Regina scowled but didn't take the bait. Instead, she said, "are we ready to go?"

Robin and Henry were both examining their packs, and then stood up nodding. Emma waved her hand again, and a simple, brown purse appeared hanging from each of their belts, heavy with gold. "I'm sure the royal treasury won't miss this," she grinned at them. Robin felt the weight of the purse and subtly looked inside. He grinned too, looking impressed.

"Then let's go," Regina waved a hand, and they all vanished in a puff of purple smoke. Opening her eyes, Emma could see a large ship docked against a pier, men moving about on it, the royal crest on the side. The air smelled of salt and fish. Time to find her pirate.

Confidently, she hitched her pack over her shoulder and walked up to what appeared to be the foreman, directing the loading of cargo onto the ship. "Good afternoon," she said to the man.

"Just a minute, madam, if you don't mind," he said in a heavy accent, not looking up from what appeared to be a list of goods.

Sternly, raising her chin, she said, "I do mind, and it's 'Your Majesty.'"

Surprised, the man looked up. Recognizing her, he took a shocked step backward, and bowed awkwardly, "Your Highness – I mean, your Majesty. Please forgive my rudeness, I did not realize it was you." Straightening, he looked over her shoulder to the others, noticing Henry, he bowed to him too, "And your son – Prince, forgive me again. Please, what can I do for you?"

She tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of this man, but she kept her face blank and said, "It is quite alright, sir. I understand that I took you by surprise. Please, my son and I, and our friends, need passage to the Port Town of Liamsburg. Can this ship take us there, and quickly?" she nodded to the ship behind him that was still being loaded with cargo.

He stammered awkwardly, saying something about needing to talk to the Captain, but how he was sure that it would work out for them. "Please come on board and I will introduce you to the Captain." He led them on to the ship, several of the sailors looking curiously at the four of them, particularly Emma, who was clearly wealthy, if they didn't recognize her the way the foreman had. Heading toward the stern, he rapped on a door leading to a small room behind the helm.

"What is it?" called a deep, accented voice from inside.

"Sir," the foreman called, "I believe we have a request from the castle to provide passage for some guests."

"What?" came the voice again, sounding surprised and annoyed. The door swung open revealing a tall man wearing the uniform of the royal navy. He was young, with a sword at his side, and his dark hair was in a short ponytail at the top of his neck. When his gaze found Emma, he blinked.

"Your Majesty," he said immediately, bowing formally and making it look graceful compared to the foreman's awkward bow. "Please accept my apology for being rude, I was not aware that you would be requiring travel. The King and Queen usually send word several weeks in advance so we can prepare our best ship for them."

"This trip was last minute, Captain, and we are in great need. I am the one who must apologize for not sending word ahead of me. Please accept this as gratitude for passage, and any displacement that may occur so we may stay on board and get to where we need to go." Emma held out a small bag, separate from the one still hanging from her belt, filled with enough gold to buy the ship.

"I would not take your gold, your Majesty. We are at your service, and we are your navy after all," he said refusing the bag. She took his hand, which was held up to her, and turned it palm up. She placed the bag in his hand.

"I insist. For your troubles," she said. "We do need haste, however. How long until we can set sail to Liamsburg? And how long will it take?"

"Liamsburg, highness? Why, we could be there in less than 7 days. And we could be ready to make sail within the hour." Emma nodded and smiled. She decided not to tell these men about her (fake) parents, the Dark One, or what they were looking for, as it would only lead to more questions. This man would take them without question anyway, and it made her life easier.

Captain Norrington offered Emma his own cabin and kicked his officers out of their cabins as well to make room for Regina, Henry, and Robin. Emma started to fight him on this, but stopped at a look from Regina. She was Queen, she reminded herself. She needed to act like it. The Princess in her was quickly fading, and she was having a hard time behaving like the royalty that she supposedly was here.

She regretted the length of time it would take them to reach the port town, but Regina had convinced her that if the Queen just vanished without a trace people would suspect. If she had just transported them there, the dwarfs in particular would wonder where she was and how she could have disappeared without their knowledge. Taking a Royal Navy ship was slower, but far less suspicious. And Blue would take the credit for getting them to the docks without horses.

Emma settled into her cabin, and looked around. It reminded her of Killian's cabin on the Jolly Roger. The bed was hard and secured to the wall of the cabin. The others had gone to put their things down in their own cabins, and Emma found herself sitting at the writing desk, also secured to the wall. Being on this ship made her miss Killian so much. While she was going to find the version of him that lived here, it wasn't him. And she missed her parents. No doubt all of them back home were trying to find a way to bring her back.

Vaguely, she wondered what they would do if Killian – Captain Hook – didn't have the wand, or if it was broken. What other options did they have. Could she find another magic bean somehow? And what about Regina and Robin. When they had been walking back to her castle, Regina and Robin had been talking together for a while privately behind her and Henry. Regina mustn't allow herself to fall for this version of the man she loved. Unless they could bring him with them? Was that even possible? He wasn't even real.

He and Regina had talked at length about Roland, although Robin seemed somewhat vague on some things about his son. It sounded like both versions of Robin were the same and Regina had mentioned how much she missed him since he'd died. He had asked how he died, and how it had involved Hades, but Regina couldn't bring herself to relive it and Robin didn't push the matter. Emma pulled herself out of her reverie as the others came back to her cabin.

"So, now what do we do?" Prince Henry asked.

"Now, we make for the port town. Regina," Emma said looking at the woman, "Any chance we might be able to _subtly_ increase our speed so we can get there sooner?"

Regina smiled at her, "now you're thinking like a sorcerer. Between the two of us, we can make this ship sail faster than any ship ever has without a portal." Her mouth shut with a snap when a knock came on the door and the captain came in.

"I hope everything is to your liking, your Highness," he said bowing.

Emma stood and politely bowed her head, "It is fine, Captain. How are we on preparations?"

"We are ready to sail, and will be in Liamsburg before you know it," he said proudly.

"You have no idea," Regina said under her breath to Emma, who smiled knowingly.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hook scowled as he led the way back to Gold's shop. He hated how frequently he was forced to work with the Crocodile these days. _This is for Emma,_ he reminded himself and he sighed as the shop came back into view. Looking at the others he noticed that Henry was still holding the Quill and a small notebook. The boy wasn't a fool, he knew that this grandfather was dangerous. _Don't ever forget that!_ Hook thought fiercely to the lad. He fought the urge to grab the sword that he still wore at his hip. He didn't like carrying modern guns.

He stopped when he got to the door of the shop and the others looked at him. He nodded, opened the door and walked in. The shop was already completely rebuilt. He glanced around, shaking his head at how a man with so much power and influence used his magic. They could hear raised voices in the back of the shop, but it was muffled so Hook wasn't sure what was being said.

"Gold!" David called. Hook felt himself nodding at David's decision not to go into the back and confront an already angry Dark One.

The voices stopped suddenly and Gold and Belle appeared through the doorway to the backroom. Belle had clearly been crying and Hook felt a stab of pity for the woman. How she had ever loved this man, he could never fathom.

"I thought our business was done?" Gold said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"Not even close, Gold," David said, stepping forward.

"I want to see my son," Belle said quickly to David.

"Of course, Belle. He's still at the station," David answered. Belle nodded gratefully and started quickly for the door.

"Belle, he's not our son. And you can't trust that man!" Gold called after her. She ignored him and left, slamming the door behind her. Hook, David, and Henry were all looking at Gold now.

"What do you want?" Gold almost spat.

"The Sorcerers Wand," Hook said immediately.

Gold laughed dryly, "And why on Earth, or in any realm, would I ever give you that?"

"Because like it or not, Crocodile, we saved your life from your _son_ ," Hook emphasized the last word. "And you owe us."

"I don't owe you anything. I can't be killed remember? I was hardly in any danger," Gold said calmly.

"But Belle was," David said. He waited a moment to let that sink in and Gold stared at him. "You and he were fighting with magic, and Belle, whether the target or not could have easily been hurt, or killed. By stopping the fight, maybe we didn't save your life, but we certainly helped save hers. Also, apparently, now we're in charge of your son, and I think you owe us for that, too."

"Especially if you want us to _keep_ holding him, mate," Hook added. Gold almost growled.

"Do we have a deal?" David asked coldly.

"With one addendum," Gold said grudgingly. "This is temporary. I expect that this is to save your respective loves?" he asked, glancing from David to Hook. Neither said anything so he continued, "then I expect this back once that is achieved." He pulled the wand out of the inner pocket of his coat.

"Agreed," David said. Hook was tempted to fight him on that, but knew he wouldn't give on that point. Besides, it was probably better for Gold to have it than to let Zelena keep it. At least Gold couldn't use it. Gold handed the wand to David who put it in his own pocket.

"Good luck getting the witch to help you," Gold said, his sneer becoming a knowing smile.

As the three of them left the shop, Hook felt the need the bathe. He hated working with that man, and it always took all of his energy not to stab him through his black heart, even knowing that it would do no good. He had let his desire for revenge die, but it didn't stop his hatred for the man.

"The Crocodile is right, it may be difficult to convince Zelena to help us," Hook said, hating that Gold was probably right about that.

"We have to try," David said. Checking his watch, however, he added, "tomorrow. It's getting late tonight, and I know at least one person who should be home doing their homework, if not already in bed." He looked pointedly at Henry. Henry had been staying with David and Snow while his mothers were missing. Hook wasn't sure if he should feel offended at all that he didn't want to stay at his and Emma's house, despite Emma's absence. It was Henry's house too, in a way. But he could understand the boy's feelings. He wasn't his father. He felt a stab of pain at the thought, but he pushed it away. It was true, no matter his relationship with Emma.

"I'll walk the lad back to the apartment, mate," Hook said to David.

"You know, I'm fourteen – I can walk home by myself," Henry said, sounding very much like a sulky teenager.

"And I'm two hundred and thirty-four. I don't see what your age has to do with it," Hook said, a smile on his face. In truth, he wasn't really sure how old he was. He'd lost count of the years living in Neverland, but two hundred and thirty-four sounded better than "and I'm somewhere in my two hundreds."

"And I'm almost 62," David said, chuckling, "if you count the years we were cursed. Now that we've established that none of us look our ages, I think Hook said he would walk you home?"

"Fine," Henry said, sounding annoyed. David nodded to Hook and he and the boy turned in the direction of the loft. The older that Henry got, the more he reminded Hook of Baelfire at his age. He'd tried to be a father figure to him too. He hoped that this situation worked out a little better than that one had.

They walked in silence for a while and when they arrived at the building, Henry stopped Hook at the door saying, "I can walk up the stairs by myself. Thanks."

Feeling it was easier to agree than to fight, Hook nodded and opened the door for Henry, who started inside. A thought occurred to him, and he said, "Henry." Henry stopped and looked at Hook curiously. "You know, if you're ever tired of staying in an open loft apartment with a crying baby, sulky dwarfs, and your cursed grandparents, you are always welcome to come stay at the house. There's certainly enough room, and it is, after all, your house too."

Henry gave Hook an interesting look. Hook wasn't sure if it was appreciative, curious, or confused. Maybe a combination of those and others. But then he smiled and said, "Thanks, Killian. I appreciate that, and I'll keep it in mind." With a nod, he turned and went up the stairs to the apartment.

Hook smiled to himself and turned toward home. Henry didn't usually call him Killian. Few people did. Even Emma would sometimes still call him Hook. But when he heard his real name, it always made him feel more like his old self, the person he'd been in the Royal Navy. He wasn't that person, of course, he was still a pirate, even Emma didn't deny that. But sometimes it felt good to remember what it felt like to just be thought of as a man. He'd been honest about the invitation to have Henry stay with him. He liked the boy, and often enjoyed spending time with him. Whether it was teaching him to sword fight, sail a ship, or play on his X game box thing. And he thought the boy liked him too. It had been Henry's idea for Emma to magic up a one handed controller for him, so he could actually play, even if he didn't really understand the purpose of the thing. It seemed truly silly to him, but Henry liked it, so he played.

Emma. His mind always found its way back to Emma. He missed her completely and he knew he wouldn't stop until he brought her home. To him. She'd gone to hell and back for him, literally, and he was completely prepared to do the same for her. He walked up the front steps to the house that he and Emma now shared, or were supposed to be sharing had she actually been home. He still occasionally thought of the Jolly Roger as home, but then he'd remember, and know, that home was wherever Emma was.

He was unaccustomed to having to lock doors, but he tried to be in the habit now, something Emma had drilled into him when he'd moved in. So, unlocking the door, he walked into the dark house. He relocked the door and turned on the lights. It may have been late for Henry to be out, but it seemed early to him. Years of piracy meant that he was not accustomed to normal sleeping hours. Walking into the kitchen, he opened the ice box – fridge, he reminded himself – and took out a plastic box of leftover food. He didn't normally like the grilled cheese from Granny's, but it reminded him of Emma. So he ate the sandwich cold. He knew that grilled cheese was supposed to be warm when you ate it, but he didn't fully trust the microwave, despite Emma's reassurances. Something that was meant to heat things up should have a flame visible, and that was that. And he didn't feel like heating up the oven, or dirtying another dish.

Sitting down at the table, he wondered how they could convince Zelena to help. She'd softened a bit since Regina had saved her from the Evil Queen, but she was still the Wicked Witch, and he didn't trust her. Getting Emma back would also mean getting Regina back, he might be able to use that argument. He thought she cared about her sister, despite the way she acted. And now that the Evil Queen was a snake, Regina was all she had left. And she was a new mother, maybe that had helped soften her a bit too, maybe she could find it in her heart, as a mother, to help reunite two other mothers with their son.

And Snow White and David. He felt the small box in his coat pocket and continued to think, taking another bite of his sandwich. He had to help break their curse. He needed to talk to both of them, and he didn't really want to talk to David separately. He knew the conversation would go better if Snow was there. She liked him. At least, he thought she did. She seemed to accept her daughter's relationship with him, if not understand it. Snow may be a fairy tale princess, and David her Prince Charming, but Emma had grown up not believing in any of that and it had made her cynical. True love wasn't even a concept she'd really believed in before Storybrooke. She'd told him that once, and it made him wonder once again about the type of people from this world. His world hadn't been one of much magic, but it did exist, and true love was certainly something known to exist, if not seen very often.

He finished the sandwich and got up. He was back on shift at the Sheriff's Office at 9 tomorrow morning and should probably get some sleep. He chuckled quietly to himself at his new lot in life. He'd been in a fair number of prison cells in his time, and if he'd been told that one day he'd be working on the other side of the bars, he would have laughed in that person's face, and then maybe killed them for their insult.

He went upstairs and hung his coat over a chair, being careful to take the small box out of the pocket first and put it on the table next to the bed. He tried not to keep looking at it as he got undressed, but he found that his eyes kept slipping to it. Sitting down on the bed in his underclothes, he picked up the small box and opened it.

The ring sparkled in the light and it's shine seemed to mock him. He'd gotten it just before Emma had been sent away and now it was a constant reminder of what was missing. He wasn't sure how Emma would react to it though, given her propensity for fearing commitment, and her fear that she was going to die soon. He had no doubts that she would survive whatever was coming from her vision. She said a black robed figure was the one who would kill her.

Suddenly, the image of the Crocodile's fight with his son flashed before his eyes, and the black robe that Gideon had been wearing. They'd been so worried about the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin, and all the other ridiculous possibilities of who that person may be, but what if it was Gideon? He had been prepared to kill whomever it was beneath that hood in order to save Emma. But if it was Belle's son… he'd probably still kill him if he had to, but he'd like to avoid the whole situation if possible. Was there any way that he would be able to prevent the entire fight, if he knew that Gideon was the figure under the hood? How would he be able to confirm that?

He took the ring out of the box and held it up to the light, still thinking. Would she like it? Would she even accept it? He remembered when a flying monkey had proposed to her, putting the ring on a plate with a fancy dessert. That wasn't exactly his style. What was his style? Would she expect some big to-do? He'd never had these worries before. He and Milah had never really considered marriage. Sure, they'd talked about it occasionally, but neither really saw the point. Not when they were just pirates, and always traveling. But he suspected that David and Snow didn't like the fact that they'd moved in together without some kind of official commitment.

Apparently, moving in with someone was more than common in this world, which is why Emma saw no problem with it, but in the Enchanted Forest, living with someone who you weren't married to was often met with scorn and scandal. As a pirate, that had never been a problem, not that he'd ever lived with a woman apart from Milah. But as a temporary sheriff working with a prince, and living with the daughter of said prince and his princess? He'd never seen that one coming. He hadn't seen Emma coming and flipping his life upside down, that was for sure.

No one really talked about it, but Emma was a princess too. Emma certainly didn't talk about it, and if something was mentioned along those lines, she often changed the subject or just ignored the conversation awkwardly. She accepted that her parents were royalty, but she didn't consider _herself_ royalty. But that was the truth, she _was_ royalty, and she wanted to be with him. A pirate. Who could've see that coming? He put the ring back in the box and closed it again.

He took his hook off and the harness that held it and placed them both on the table next to the box. He laid down and closed his eyes, but he was restless and he knew falling asleep would be a problem. He had slept better for the short time they'd been living together. Having her lying next to him was soothing. But not tonight; he laid there in the dark for several hours before he finally dozed off, but he had bad dreams. He was chasing Emma through the woods, the green wedding ring that Snow White wore in his hand, glowing as he chased her. When he finally caught her, she was standing before a hooded figure holding a sword. He dropped the ring in his haste to help her, but when he managed to put himself between her and the figure, the robe fell away into the ground, leaving only the cloth. Emma stared at him in bewilderment.

"Where is it?" she asked, holding out her hand. She was wearing the same red dress she'd worn to the ball in the past, a small tiara sitting on her head. Looking at her hand, he realized that she meant her parent's wedding ring. He ran to where he thought he'd dropped it, but he couldn't find it. He turned back to face her feeling guilty. "That ring symbolized my parent's true love. How can you expect a princess like me to love a man like you, when you can't even hold on to that symbol?"

He tried to explain that he'd been trying to save her, but his tongue felt swollen and he couldn't form the words. She shook her head at him and a tall man wearing a bright uniform that matched her dress and a crown walked out of the trees and put his arm around her. He grinned condescendingly at Hook.

Hook sat up in bed, breathing heavily. This is why he didn't like to sleep that much. Whenever he slept more than a couple hours, bad dreams like this plagued him. He never used to have dreams like this, not until he'd realized he was in love with Emma Swan. And he knew they meant that he didn't think he was good enough for her. And he wasn't.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Emma woke up on the fourth night of their journey to bad dreams. Ever since she'd awoken from the memories of this reality, thanks to Regina, she'd been haunted by nightmares every time she tried to close her eyes. She'd betrayed Killian in this last one for King Phillip and Queen Aurora's son, Prince Phillip. One of the weirdest parts about that was that Prince Phillip was still a baby back in Storybrooke…

Her time spent on the ship had been fairly uneventful apart from her and Regina subtly increasing the wind. Regina had warned against making too many weather changes – like changing the flow of the water itself – because it could have unforeseen impacts on the overall weather of the land, with disastrous consequences. So, they stuck to increasing the wind in the small area they were sailing in. The captain had marveled at their luck given the urgency.

He'd twice more attempted to give back the gold Emma had given him, but Emma flat out refused. She hated being this Queen, and she missed her leather jacket. And her ponytail. And pants. She really missed wearing pants, these bulky skirts annoyed her more than almost anything else. Almost. The constant bowing that she faced every time she left her room from the crew was worse. So, at this point, she generally stuck to her cabin.

It was the middle of the night now, and most of the crew was asleep. The Captain thought that they would be to Liamsburg by morning, and Emma would be happy to get off the boat. She liked to sail, but she preferred the company of a certain pirate when sailing, rather than this crew of bowing and scraping naval officers. She got up, wrapped her cloak around herself and left the room. They were still making good speed, despite lack of magic currently controlling their wind.

There were only two crewmembers on deck and both had bowed to her as soon as she emerged. But they left her alone and went back to their tasks as soon as she acknowledged them. Leaning against the railing, she looked out over the water. It was cold, though calm, and she could only barely make out the land miles away that they were sailing parallel to. The stars were bright and twinkling, and the quarter moon gave only a little light.

She watched the stars for a time, missing Killian more than anyone else at the moment, mostly because she was at sea. She was only a little worried about Henry; he had his grandparents, and Killian would most certainly look after him. And he wasn't exactly a little boy anymore. She sighed and breathed in the cool night air.

Suddenly, she realized she wasn't alone. Robin was leaning on the railing next to her. "How are you doing, your Highness?" he asked quietly.

"I've told you to call me Emma," she said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Of course, Emma," he said, correcting himself. She nodded and they stared out over the railing for a time before he spoke again. "I wanted to ask you something." She looked at him curiously and he took that as permission to continue, "I would have asked Regina, but I get the sense that I make her uncomfortable, most of the time. But sometimes, she acts like a completely different person. I don't mean from the Evil Queen that I heard about so many years ago, but from the woman who acts so strangely around me." Emma still didn't say anything, but she suspected she knew where this was going. "She seems happy. Content. But then it's like she remembers something, and she's sullen again. There was more between us. Her and this _other_ me from your world, wasn't there?"

Emma sighed, and said, "Yes, there was. You two, you were together."

Robin nodded knowingly. He'd known the answer. "And when I… died, it hurt her, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did," Emma said simply. Suddenly, Emma looked at him. She studied his face, and something occurred to her that hadn't before now. "Why aren't you older?" she asked

"Quite an impertinent question," Robin commented, but he was smiling.

"You should be much older than this. You're the same age as my parents and Regina, and they were in their 60s," Emma said, speaking the logic that was running through her head.

"Regina doesn't look like she's in her 60's," Robin pointed out.

"Yes, but neither do my parents back home. We all look the same age because of the curse. For almost 30 years, no one in Storybrooke aged, except Henry, so by the time I got there, I was the same age as my parents," Emma explained. "But here, everyone aged the way they should have. But you look the same as you did. How?"

Robin grinned almost sadly. "Sleeping curse," he said. "Cast by a wicked witch for stealing from her years and years ago. "

"That wouldn't be _the_ Wicked Witch from Oz, would it?"

He tilted his head at her in surprise, "Yes, it is." Emma nodded, feeling a scowl on her face. "Anyway, she'd caught up with me, and put me under the sleeping curse. Unfortunately my wife had already died at that point, so there wasn't anyone to wake me. Or so it seemed." Emma listened curiously. "Just in case someone came for me anyway, the witch hid me away from the world. But eventually, my son found me and woke me up. He's a grown man now, and I didn't get to raise him, but Little John and Friar Tuck did a good job with him and they helped him find me. Unfortunately, Friar Tuck died before they were able to do so," he added sadly.

Emma understood the situation he described all too well. It mirrored her own childhood away from her parents, except being raised by people who actually knew them. Regardless, she felt sorry for both Robin and Roland, knowing the difficulties that they faced. "So you didn't age for all those years," she said. It wasn't a question, but Robin nodded anyway. "I'm sorry you were kept from your son," she added after a moment.

He shrugged and said, "It sounds like you understand, been there yourself, on both sides from the sounds of it."

They fell silent for a while and resumed watching the water flowing quickly below them, and then Robin said, "So, if no one aged where you're from, does that mean that Roland is still a boy?"

Emma looked at him sideways, "He is."

"And he lost his father."

Emma looked at him carefully, wondering where this was going, hoping she was wrong. "He did. He went back to Sherwood Forest after that."

"Let me guess, to be raised by my Merry Men?" Robin said, not looking at her.

"I believe so, yes."

"Emma, I'm going to ask you something, and I'm going to ask that no matter your answer, you not mention it to Regina," Robin said. Emma looked at him warily, and he turned to meet her eyes. She didn't say anything so he went on, "I want to return to your world with you."

Emma felt her breath catch and she stared at the thief in front of her. He was holding her eyes, and she couldn't look away. _I want to return to your world with you_. Could she refuse a request like that? Robin was her friend, but how would this affect Regina? Could he even physically return with them? This world wasn't real after all, so what would happen if he tried to join them? He wanted to return for Roland. He didn't want his son to grow up without his father, like his son here had. He wanted to see his son grow up. Emma understood that. While she hadn't raised Henry, she remembered raising him in the fake memories that Regina had given her, and she treasured those memories, even though she knew they weren't real.

"I don't know, Robin," she said carefully. He was watching her with an unreadable expression. "I don't know if it's even physically possible. Since this reality isn't…" her voice trailed off not wanting to finish the sentence.

"real. This reality isn't real, therefore I'm not real, so you don't know what would happen if I tried to join you," he supplied for her. She nodded, feeling guilty. "With your permission, I'd like to try."

Emma studied him for a minute. He seemed determined. What would she do if she was in his situation? She would want to make sure that her son was raised with his mother, she knew that. Despite everything, she regretted giving him up. Finally, she nodded.

"Thank you, Emma."

"You don't want me to tell Regina?" she asked cautiously.

"I don't know how she would react. Especially since you tell me we were involved in your world," he explained.

"You're feeling it, aren't you?"

"Feeling what?" he asked carefully.

"A pull to her. I didn't tell you everything about you and Regina's relationship," Emma said. She wasn't sure this was the wisest course, but she plowed on, feeling she owed the truth to this man, for Regina's sake. "When Regina was still the Queen, before she became the Evil Queen as everyone here knows her, she was lonely. She didn't love her husband, my mother's father. Her first love had been killed, fairly horribly, by her own mother, and she never thought she'd find another soul mate."

Robin was watching her intently, hanging on every word. But his face was set. Emma continued, "That's when she met Tinkerbell, a fairy. Tinkerbell wanted to help Regina find love again, so she cast a spell to find her soul mate." Robin continued to stare, but now he was the one who looked wary. "It led her to a man in a bar, with a lion tattoo on his arm. But Regina never went in to meet the man." Emma found herself glancing down at Robin's right arm. His sleeve was rolled up and the tattoo was clearly visible, even in the dim light. Looking up at his face again, he met her eyes.

"It was me," he said. Emma wasn't sure if it was meant to be a question or not, but she nodded anyway.

"So, you can see why Regina's been so strange around you. She's probably having trouble sorting out her feelings for him, and having to spend time with you. And I don't know how she'd react to your suggestion to come back with us," Emma said.

"Which is why I would ask you to keep this between us until we can actually figure out how to get there. I don't want her worrying about it," he said quickly.

"So you are feeling it," she said bluntly.

"Yes, I am," he admitted. "And I guess, now I understand why. But she doesn't see me as real. Not yet, and I don't want her to get her hopes up before we know for sure."

Emma nodded, "Okay, I won't tell her."

"Thank you, Emma," he said quietly. He looked up at the moon and then back to her. "We should both try to get some more sleep tonight. It sounds like we'll be in port by morning." She nodded and he wished her a good night, walking toward the ladder below deck.

Emma stayed where she was, watching the water for several more minutes before she had to admit that Robin was right and she needed some sleep. Holding her cloak closed with one hand, she walked back to the Captain's cabin – her cabin, for now. Closing the door behind her, she pulled her cloak off and climbed into the hard bed. She was missing Killian again. All that talk with Robin about soul mates had her missing her pirate.

And she knew she was heading toward a man who looked just like him, but wasn't him. And she had to remember that. Would he be older too? Or would he have remained young for some reason like Robin, maybe having continued to live in Neverland for a while? She almost hoped that he'd be older, it would make it easier to remember that this was not her Killian. This was Captain Hook, and he was still a pirate here. She didn't even know if he would be there.

He'd told her once that this was one of his favorite port towns to frequent when he was sailing, particularly after Pan let him leave Neverland. So, she hoped this version still felt the same way. And if he wasn't there, hopefully someone there would know where to find him. She'd agreed with Regina that once they were off the boat, they could use magic to travel again. No one would worry about it at that point.

She closed her eyes praying that the dreams wouldn't come. She needed the sleep. She needed to find that wand. She needed to find that pirate.

She woke the next morning to discover that she hadn't had any dreams, for which she was grateful. Regina was knocking on her door, and she quickly dressed. Opening the door, she saw that they had already docked at a large port.

"We're here," Regina said.

"I can see that," Emma replied. Regina grinned at her and followed her back into her room while she put everything that found its way out of her bag back into the pack. In less than 10 minutes, Robin and Prince Henry had joined them, bags fully packed and standing on the deck, waiting for Emma to give the go ahead to disembark.

She thanked the captain, and he made one last attempt to give her back the gold, which she whole-heartedly refused. She told him that he would be free of them at this point as they had made travel arrangements inland from here. He looked concerned and attempted to persuade her to let him supply her some officers for protection.

She reassured him that she would not need protection, and he should be on his way. He acquiesced, albeit grudgingly, but when she put her foot down, he knew he'd lost. She politely asked permission to disembark which seemed to surprise him and he nodded, bowing as she and her companions left the ship. She could feel his eyes on her back as she made her way down the gangplank and waved a final time before turning to the others.

"Okay, we're here," Regina said. "Now what?"

"I think the easiest thing to do first would be to see if the Jolly Roger is here," Emma suggested. Regina nodded.

"Mother, are you certain about this plan? I know you know this Killian Jones from your world, but the Captain Hook from this world is a ruthless killer. Maybe it would be better if Robin and I approach him first," Prince Henry said quietly.

"Henry," Emma said in her mom voice, "I know what I'm doing. And believe it or not, I've actually met Captain Hook, a version of him anyway, once in the past." Robin and Henry both stared at her. Regina laughed quietly, remembering the story. "I know I can control him, especially if I can get him drinking rum."

Robin laughed but Henry stared even harder at her, "Mother! That is not appropriate. To be drinking with a pirate!"

Emma couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression on Henry's face. She shook her head at him, still smiling, but then she shouldered her pack, and began walking down the dock looking at the ships harbored there. She had taken off her tiara and was wearing a much simpler dress than before. They decided that she probably shouldn't advertise who she was. Liamsburg didn't have the friendliest of reputations, but should they get into a tight situation, she was sure that between the four of them – especially her and Regina – they could handle it. They did agree to not split up, however.

Her eyes searched all the ships that they passed, but none were familiar. They decided to go find a tavern and ask around. It was still early morning, however, and not many people were about yet. She turned in toward the town and came to an inn called "The Black Lamb." She remembered Killian mentioning it once, and she opened the door.

The room that greeted her eyes was dark and dingy. There were only a couple people at the many tables, who seemed to be eating breakfast. After a minute, she noticed another person sleeping on a bench toward the back, an empty bottle on the floor next to him. The tables were clean however, and the innkeeper waddled over to her, surprise on her face.

Eyeing the four of them, Robin still wearing his vest, his bow across his chest and a quiver on his back, Regina in a plain grey riding dress, Henry wearing plain, but well-made wool and a sword, and Emma in her fine blue riding dress. She decided to address Emma.

"Good mornin'," she hesitated, eyeing Emma's dress again, "milady. My name be Mary Little. How can I help ye today?"

"We're looking for someone, Mistress Little," Emma said politely. "A sailor, dark hair, long leather jacket, hook for a hand. I think you'd remember him."

"Aye, ye do be describin' Captain Hook perfectly, milady. He comes in of'n enough. Have no seen him for some time, though," she said cheerfully. She had an unusual accent and her words seemed to flow together awkwardly. She eyed Emma doubtfully, "If ye don't mind me askin', milady, why would a woman like yaself be looking for a man like tha?"

"Never mind that," Emma said sharply. "When was the last time he was here, and do you know where he went? It is vital that I find him."

"Stolen somethin' from ye, didhe?" she said slyly. Emma looked at her quickly, but the woman continued, "Aye, thought so, tha's the only reason any is ever looking for tha man. He do be here no more than 2 weeks gone. Plannin' to sail north from what I recall."

Emma nodded, "Do you know specifically where?"

"'fraid not, milady. I did no talk to him much, he was on'y here for 1 night, on'y mentioned tha he be travelin' north," she said.

"Thank you, Mistress Little. If you don't mind, is there any chance we could get some breakfast here? My companions and I have not yet eaten this morning."

Suddenly the woman's face light up and she nodded fervently, "o' course! O' Course! Please, please do have a seat." She ushered them to a clean table, far away from the man still snoring on the bench. Within minutes, she'd brought them all out plates of eggs and bacon, and a steaming pot of tea. Emma missed coffee. Regina was glancing at the teapot with a look that said she was thinking the same thing.

They ate quietly, no one really saying anything. When Emma was nearly done with her plate, the man on the bench snorted and opened his eyes. Loudly, he called for a drink, an obvious slur to his words. Mistress Little stormed over to him and began berating him, telling him that it was morning and he should be going home to his wife. He argued with her for only a minute, before she pulled out what appeared to be a wooden spoon from her apron, tapping it on her palm threateningly. The man glanced at it, and then stood up quickly, causing him to sway and almost fall back over.

She shooed him out of the inn and slammed the door behind him, looking cross. Noticing Emma watching the spectacle interestedly, she came over and apologized profusely for "Master Thatcher's" behavior. Emma reassured her that she was not offended and Mistress Little wandered back to the kitchen, not looking entirely placated.

Emma laughed to herself, while she finished her breakfast. The others were just about done as well, when Robin said, "So, now what do we do? North isn't exactly much to go on."

"We can ask around at the docks. Surely, someone will know more," Emma said, trying to sound certain. Regina gave her a knowing look, and Emma glanced away, not meeting her eyes. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought. She paid for their breakfast and they made their way back to the docks.

They spent the day asking around the port, staying close together, but breaking apart enough to ask their own questions of different people. They heard little that was helpful, and only a few comments that confirmed what Mistress Little had said. Emma was just about to ask Regina if maybe they should just poof to the next port town north, when Regina proposed it herself.

"Dinner first?" Robin asked, and Emma agreed. They went back to "The Black Lamb" and asked Mistress Little for a meal. She was delighted to have them return to her inn and even offered for them to sit in a small private dining room. Emma appreciated this, as a woman and man had commandeered the common room with a flute and song.

After they finished their meal, Mistress Little returned offering rooms for the night. "Best rooms! Good rate fer milady and her… companions," she smiled at them. Emma politely refused explaining that they had to be going.

"Surely, no at this hour, milady?" she asked shocked. "It do be gettin' dark outside, and there be brigands on the road!"

"I assure you, Mistress Little, my companions and I are quite capable, but time is of the essence, and we must be going," Emma said standing up. The others followed her back into the common room, where the girl was singing a lude song on a table, and lifting her skirts enough to expose an ankle. Men were stomping and clapping along to the beat surrounding her, mugs in their hands.

The innkeeper followed them, trying to convince them to stay, no doubt for the money she would earn, contrary to her protests claiming that she feared for their safety. Emma turned to face the woman one last time to politely decline when the door opened, a cold breeze wafting into the room.

Out of the corner of her eye, a small pudgy man with mousy eyes and a red knitted cap came into the room. Smee. Emma froze mid-word, her mind racing. Regina was staring at him too. The other three turned to see what the two of them were staring at. The door closed behind Smee. He was alone. But he would know where Hook was.

"Oh!" Mistress Little said, "Tha do be Mister Smee. He do sail with the captain tha you seek."

Emma just said, "I know," and she left the innkeeper standing in the doorway to the private dining room. Regina, Robin, and Prince Henry followed Emma. Emma stopped at the table that Smee had seated himself at and she leaned over it, her fists resting on the table. She let her hair fall over her shoulders, and she'd managed to slightly pull down her dress as she'd walked over. The way she was leaning, in addition to the lowered dress, meant that she was exposing more cleavage than she was used to. But she needed the information that this man would surely have.

"Mister Smee," she said in a sultry voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Henry's shocked face, but Robin and Regina both looked amused. She ignored them. Smee looked at her, his eyes darting from her face to her chest and back again before answering.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked in a mousy voice. This man really was a rodent, and that was before Gold had turned him into a rat.

"I'm looking for your boss, Captain Hook," she said, doing her best to sound interested for reasons other than the truth. "I've heard all these rumors about him, and I'm just _dying_ to meet him."

His face became a grin, but then his eyes found the others watching them. "And who are they?" he asked.

"Oh, don't worry about them. They're just my friends, and we had a bet going about whether I would be able to get a _private_ meeting with this Captain Hook. I think I'm winning," she said, a small smile on her face. She emphasized the word "private" and she noticed the others frowning at that, but they all acted like this wasn't news. Except Henry who was looking scandalized. She tried not to feel too embarrassed about acting this way in front of him. _He's not really my son_ , she reminded herself.

"Oh, I think I might be able to make that happen," Smee said, his grin expanding. "I'm sure that my captain would love to meet a beautiful woman like yourself."

"You mean, he's here? Now?" Emma said, some of the silkiness dropping out of her voice in her surprise. He blinked and then nodded. Emma regained her cool, "well, then, Mister Smee, lead the way. I just can't _wait_ to meet him."

Smee nodded and stood up, Emma turned and waived to Mistress Little, who was still watching them from the doorway to the other room. She came over and Emma ordered a bottle of rum to go. Smee and the innkeeper both blinked in surprise, but Mistress Little waddled away almost gleefully.

Emma felt a tug on her arm, and Regina pulled her out of Smee's earshot. The four of them put their heads together. "Emma, what the hell are you doing?" Regina whispered urgently. Emma tried to maintain her face, since Smee was watching them, even if he couldn't hear.

"Improvising," Emma said.

"'Improvising!'" Regina shot back angrily. "We agreed that we would stay together. And I don't exactly trust this version of your pirate."

"Look, don't worry about it, I've done this before, I know how to handle him. You three, get rooms for the night, I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I'll be fine, I promise." Emma said quickly.

"Emma," Regina said slowly, "I know that you trust and love Killian, but this is not the same man. What if he tries to… hurt you?"

"I know that he's not the same man, and if something happens, I still have my magic. I'll be fine. And he won't hurt me anyway, even as a pirate, he has a sense of honor," she said. Even to her own ears, it sounded like she was making excuses. But regardless, she broke away from the others as the innkeeper came back with a full bottle of rum.

She told Emma the price, who tried to hide her outrage, she knew that it wasn't worth nearly that, but she let it go and handed over the silver. She then also explained that the four of them would be staying the night after all, and to please show her friends to their rooms, but that she would be returning later. The others watched her anxiously, but went along with it. As they were being led away, she motioned for Smee to bring her to Hook.

He smiled at her, his eyes still flitting to her chest every so often, and led her out into the dark street. She followed closely behind him, but neither said anything. She continued to pull the top of her dress down to keep her chest exposed, as it kept sliding back up while they walked. She held the bottle of rum close to her side too.

Within minutes, they were back at the docks, and she was staring up at a familiar ship. She smiled at it. He led her onto the ship and to the ladder that led down to his cabin. Smee bent down to knock on the hatch, but she stopped him.

"I can take it from here, Mister Smee. For your troubles," she tossed him a silver coin and he smiled when he caught it. That could buy more than a couple drinks at the inn. He scurried off the ship and she bent down to knock.

"What the bloody hell do you want!" came a familiar, yet angry voice from inside. "I had given express orders not to disturb me toni…" the word trailed off as the hatch was thrown open and he saw who was looking down at him. Suddenly he was all smiles.

He climbed up the ladder, eyeing Emma as he slowly made his way to her own eye level. "And who do we have here?" he asked curiously.

"Captain," Emma said, giving him the half smile that she knew he liked. "I had heard that you were in town, and I just _had_ to meet you. I brought you a gift," she added handing him the bottle of rum.

His smile widened and he raised an eyebrow at her, "Well then, love, why don't you join me for a drink?" He motioned down the ladder and she smiled at him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hook sat up in bed the next morning feeling groggy. He hadn't really gotten back to sleep after that dream, and the sun was only just starting to rise. He didn't really have to get up yet, but he wasn't sleeping anyway, so he didn't see the point of staying in bed. Blinking in the light of the rising sun, he walked to the bathroom.

He showered and brushed his teeth; two habits he formed here, very much liking them. He dried off with a towel and went back into the bedroom to get dressed. He grabbed the harness for his hook first, as it had to go on before the shirt, and put it on. He then picked out one of his many similar looking shirts, vests, and trousers and put them on still not feeling awake. Maybe he'd grab some coffee at Granny's before going to the station. Another perk of this world: coffee.

He glanced at the box still sitting on his night stand next to his hook and slowly walked over to it. He grabbed his hook first and reattached it to his arm, feeling as though it was as much a part of himself as any other part of his body. He then picked up the box, resisting the urge to open it again, and put it in his vest pocket. Heading out of the room, he grabbed his usual jacket and put it on, feeling more like himself, but still tired.

Deciding that he wasn't really hungry, he left the house to go to Granny's for coffee. Maybe he'd relieve David early. Or, better yet, they could go see the witch together and make their arguments. He still didn't know how they would convince her to help them. He walked into town, preferring his own legs to that little yellow monstrosity that Emma drove. It took about 20 minutes, as opposed to less than 5, but the air felt good on his face.

Granny's was already open, and he swaggered inside and sat at the counter. Granny came over, holding a coffee pot and mug. He nodded and she poured him a cup, neither of them saying anything. Despite her job, Granny wasn't really a morning person either. He drank the bitter liquid black, thinking about the amount of cream and sugar that Emma usually put in hers. Way too sweet for his tastes. When he finished his cup, after less than 10 minutes, Granny came over again to offer him another cup.

"Could I get it to go?" he asked her.

"'course," she said simply. She reached under the counter and pulled out a paper cup and lid, pouring the brew into it. He threw a couple bills on the counter, not asking how much it cost, and she didn't say anything. He took the hot cup and stood up, thanking her for the coffee.

As he left, he briefly traded words with Leroy, who was just coming in, looking angry as usual. He walked to the station and greeted David who was sitting at his desk, clearly trying to avoid looking at Gideon who was still sitting in his cell. It didn't look like he'd moved since the night before.

"Hook," David said as a form of greeting.

"Morning, mate," Hook said, also trying not to look at Gideon.

"Glad you're here, Henry just texted me. He's on his way over and he wants to go see _her_ ASAP," David said. Hook nodded, knowing who he meant. He wondered if David wasn't saying her name because Gideon might be listening.

Hook took a seat next to David and, despite himself, looked at Gideon. David followed his eyes and said, "Belle didn't stay long last night. He barely said anything to her, and certainly nothing of importance. She went home shortly after that."

"Poor lass," Hook said idly, still studying the man, who was now openly watching them. The three of them sat in silence for several minutes, just watching each other. The second hand on the clock seemed loud to Hook's ears, and he actually had to resist the urge to fidget. He wasn't used to being this uncomfortable around anyone. He prided himself on that fact. A fact that this man was putting to the test.

Suddenly, he realized that he was drilling into the armrest of his chair with his hook, and quickly stopped. David hadn't noticed, fortunately. Outside, the sun had fully risen now, and sunlight was shining through the windows.

David stood up and walked over to Gideon. He looked at him for another minute before he said, "We keep some pop tarts in a desk, if you're hungry?"

Gideon looked at him, curiosity on his face, "What is a 'pop tart'?"

"They're um… never mind," David said and he walked into Emma's office, pulling out the small box. He took one of the foil wrapped pastries and a bottle of water that they kept in a small fridge in there and brought them over to Gideon. "Make sure that you open the foil and take the pop tarts out, before you eat them," David said, and Hook couldn't tell if he was mocking the man or if he was completely serious. Even Hook had to admit that sometimes certain things in this world were difficult to understand.

Gideon took the bottle of water and the package of pop tarts and sat back down on his bed, carefully studying the two items. David, shaking his head, walked back to his desk. He was about to sit back down when Henry came in.

"Ready?" he asked them both without preamble. They both nodded their heads and as they were leaving, a crinkling sound met Hook's ears indicating that Gideon had opened the pop tarts. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the tall man carefully investigating the pastry that had been inside.

When they got outside, Hook wondered aloud if it was a good idea to leave Gideon alone, regardless of the magic barrier that Gold supposedly left up. David agreed and nodded to a group who were walking toward them. As they came into view, Hook saw three of the dwarfs, including Leroy, and strangely, Doctor Hopper.

"Is the cricket really going to be much use as a guard?" Hook asked David quietly.

"Not a guard, no," David said, just as quiet. "But he might be able to figure out what's going on with the man in there."

"Did you warn them about the whole 'name' thing?" Henry asked.

"I did and they understand, but none of them seemed overly concerned about it," David replied, shrugging. "Dwarfs…" he added quietly, almost to himself. Nodding to the group, who had greeted them while walking into the station, David opened the door to his truck and motioned for Hook and Henry to climb in, Henry in the middle.

They rode the distance to the farm in silence, all three uncomfortable on the bench seat in the truck. When the farm house came into sight, Hook asked, "So how are we going to convince Zelena to help us?"

David glanced at him briefly before shifting his eyes back to the road.

"I have an idea, but it may be a long shot," Henry said slowly. Hook raised an eyebrow at the boy, but Henry just smiled back. The ride became more bumpy as they pulled onto the dirt drive leading up to the house. Before they had even stopped, Zelena was walking out of the house, a small baby in her arms, to meet them. She was wearing a heavy green fur coat and a hat sat on her head at an strange angle. She was frowning at them.

David put the truck into park, and they all climbed out to face her. She was rocking the baby slightly, and Hook noticed that every time she looked at the baby, a small smile played on her lips. The three of them walked up to her and she said, "What do you heroes want?"

"To ask you for your help," David said without a prologue. She raised her eyebrows at them, and David pulled the Sorcerer's Wand out of his inner coat pocket. Her eyebrows climbed even higher.

"How did you manage to get that?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice. And desire. The baby cooed in her arms, and she lowered her eyes to the baby. "Shhh, mommy's here, sweetie," she said in a gentle voice.

"Gold gave it to us," David told her honestly.

Her head shot back up in surprise, "And what did you have to promise the Dark One in return for something like that?"

"Only that we give it back to him when we do what we want to do with it," David said.

"And the Dark One made this deal out of the blackness of his heart, did he? He must have known you would be bringing it to me. He tried to have my own sister kill me last week, why would he just give the wand to you?" Zelena asked skeptically.

"We saved Belle and the Crocodile last night," Hook answered. Her eyebrows flew up again, looking at him now. "Their son has come back, fully grown and with a deadly mission," he added at her expression.

"I see," she said slowly. "And now you're here. And you want me to do… what exactly? Cure you and your wife?"

"For starters," David said, meeting her stare.

"And where is my sister and the Savior in all of this, why am I getting the boys this morning?"

They all stared at her. Did she not know what happened? She was pretty isolated out here and she didn't exactly have very many friends. "You didn't hear?" Hook finally managed to ask. She tilted her head at them, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "The Evil Queen made a wish to Aladdin.." he launched into the story, with some help from David and Henry.

He made the tale as short as possible, but it still took several minutes to explain where Emma and Regina were, and how they got there. She hadn't heard that Aladdin had become a genie either. When he finished, she was staring at all three of them.

"Well, that's quite a conundrum you've found yourselves in. And the other half of my sister? Where is she?" Zelena asked. They explained about Gideon showing up and turning the Evil Queen into a viper. Figuring he may as well finish the story, he included Gideon attacking Gold and Aladdin and Jasmine wishing themselves to Agrabbah.

"So, what you're telling me, is not only do you want me waking up your dear, sweet Snow White," she said to David, "but you also want me to open a portal to this other land where my sister and Emma are stuck?" All three of them nodded and she laughed, "If the Queen really is stuck as a snake, and Regina and the Savior are trapped, it sounds like my life just became so much simpler, why in the world would I help you?"

Hook felt himself staring at her. Even in his darkest pirating days, he would have at least considered helping people out if they'd asked. Especially if there was some profit in it for him. He might have made them walk the plank if there was nothing in it for him, but he would still at least consider it. David was staring at her too, apparently at a loss for words.

Henry spoke up, "my mom is your sister." She looked at Henry, smile fading slightly, eyes narrowing. "And no matter what you think of her now, she cares about you. Not to mention she saved you from her evil half last week. And since you're her sister, than makes you my aunt." Her smile was gone now and she was staring at him. His aunt? Hook had never really thought about it that way, but it was true. "So, I'm asking, as your nephew. Will you help wake up my grandmother, and save my moms?"

Zelena scowled at him, and then at David and Hook. Finally she sighed and said, "Why do I always have to do everything in this town?"

Hook released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and David said, "You'll help us?"

"I'll wake up your precious wife and I'll help you get to this _place_ , but I'm certainly not coming with you," she said sharply. "You can find your own way home."

"Deal," Hook and David said at the same time. "If," Hook added, eyeing the witch, "you let us take the wand with us."

David had been on the verge of putting the wand into Zelena's outstretched hand when he stopped, looking at Hook. Then he transferred his look to Zelena with a curious and suspicious expression. She scowled at Hook, "well played, _pirate_." She hesitated looking at the wand then said through a sigh, "fine." David nodded and finally put the wand in Zelena's hand.

She grasped the wand, gazing at it as though seeing an old friend for the first time in years. She waved it and a cloud of green smoke enveloped them all. Slightly disoriented, Hook landed on his feet and looked around. They were all in Snow and David's apartment. Bashful had jumped up in surprise. He was holding little Neal close to himself, a small spoon in one hand. A tiny jar of baby food was sitting at the table next to him. Snow hadn't moved.

"Now, I think I need to do this over your hearts," Zelena said.

"Whaa…" Bashful said.

"It's okay," David said to him, taking his son from the dwarf. "Thanks for the help, but I think you guys won't be needed after today," he added cheerfully, indicating Zelena who was eyeing Snow and holding the wand. Bashful gasped, and then stepped away from the others as though embarrassed at having done so. Zelena walked over to him and handed him her daughter. "Since you're so good with babies…" she said. He took Robyn awkwardly, dropping the spoon on the table quickly, and nodded. Zelena walked over to Snow, sleeping on the bed.

Suddenly a squelching sound met Hook's ears and Zelena was pulling out Snow's half of a heart, looking at it closely. Then she straightened and walked to David. Realizing what was about to happen he handed Neal to Henry with a quick, "Hold your uncle." Henry gasped and took the baby, looking unsure. "Okay," David said to Zelena.

Looking unconcerned, she drove her hand into his chest and he gasped in pain. She pulled out the other half of their heart. Holding Snow's half and the wand in one hand, and David's in the other, she examined the glowing pieces. Then she transferred Snow's to the other hand and she waved the wand over both. A shimmering hovered around the hearts and she examined them again.

"I think that should do it," she said.

"Think?" David asked hesitantly.

"Well, if it doesn't work, it'll probably kill you both," Zelena said shrugging. She clearly didn't care that much. Hook heard Bashful inhale sharply behind them.

"Do it," David said walking over to lay down on the bed next to his wife. The others followed him into the bedroom quietly. Zelena pocketed the wand and took the two halves in both hands again. She leaned over both of them and quickly pushed the hearts back into their chests. Hook realized he was holding his breath once more. David gasped again, his body surging upward and his eyes bulging. He fell back onto the bed, eyes now closed.

The room was still for a moment, and Hook could feel Henry's fear resonating off of him as he held Neal. Hook watched, every second fearing more for Emma's parents. And Emma. How could he tell her that her parents, whom she'd searched for, for so long, were dead? _Please don't let them be dead_ , he thought. He realized that his thoughts were selfish, but he couldn't really help it.

Suddenly David gasped and coughed and opened his eyes again. He looked around for a moment and he gaze fell on his wife who still hadn't moved.

"No!" he said leaning over her, panic in his face. Without hesitation, he kissed her and a wave of magic washed over all of them. Hook half expected David to fall back onto the bed asleep, but he didn't. Snow opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a joyous look on her husband's face. True love together again. It was how it should be. And as soon as he could, Hook would be back with his own.

Snow's face broke into the happiest of looks. Pure joy and love. "You found me," she said.

"Did you ever doubt that I would?" he asked smiling and they kissed again. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Hook decided to let them have a moment and he walked back to the kitchen area. Henry had joined him, he realized and he looked at the boy. _Not really a boy anymore_. Henry was nearly as tall as he was now. He was still holding Neal. Bashful and Zelena, who had taken her daughter back, also left the other two alone, Zelena looking nauseated.

A minute or so later, Snow and David joined them in the kitchen, holding hands and David expressing his deep thanks to Zelena, who nodded in acknowledgment awkwardly. Snow looked from David to Zelena, then realizing that she must have lifted their curse, she suddenly hugged the other woman tightly, while at the same time being careful of little Robyn, still in the witch's arms. Zelena looked dumbstruck and didn't seem to know what to do. She stood there stiffly until Snow let her go, expressing her deepest of thanks.

"How did you do all this?" Snow asked, looking at them all.

"Sorcerer's Wand," David said simply.

"And how did you get that from Gold?"

"We can explain later," David said happily. "Now, we have to find our daughter."

Snow smiled and nodded at him, then looked at Zelena. "And you're going to help get us to wherever she is?" she asked hesitantly.

Zelena gave the princess a level look, nodded, but then said, "But I'm not coming with you." Snow nodded understandingly.

"What about Neal?" Snow asked David suddenly. "I'm not leaving town again without him."

"The dwarfs and Granny can take care of him," David began but Snow cut him off.

"No, I'm not leaving him, David. Either one of us stays here, or he comes with us," she said fiercely. David looked carefully at his wife.

"I've spent too much time apart from you the last few weeks. We'll all go," he said, a small smile on his face. "In this family, adventure is just part of the deal. We may as well bring him on his first." Snow smiled back at her husband and nodded. "Bashful?" David asked, suddenly turning to the dwarf.

The little man turned red, but looked expectantly at David. "Can you and the Dwarfs handle things in town? As long as Gideon doesn't escape the Sherriff's station, things _should_ be quiet."

"What?" Snow asked shocked.

"We'll be okay," Bashful said in a quiet voice, clearly uncomfortable at all the eyes watching him. "If we need Mr. Gold's help with his son, we'll ask him, and I'm sure Belle will help with any persuasion that may be needed." David nodded, but Snow looked ready to question everything. He took her hand with a look that promised explanations later.

"So, are we going now?" Henry asked the group at large. Hook looked curiously at the Charmings. David and Snow exchanged looks.

"Why don't we prepare a little bit before we leave this time and go tonight?" Snow suggested. Hook was anxious to find Emma, but understood this. When they'd gone to Neverland, the only supplies they'd had was whatever Hook had on his ship and whatever Regina could conjure. They wouldn't have either advantage this time. They all nodded, and within only a few minutes, Hook was walking down the stairs from the apartment on the way back home.

Suddenly an urge hit him and he stopped before he'd even left the building. Bashful had been descending quietly behind him and accidently walked into him when he stopped. Bashful stammered multiple apologies, turning red again, and not meeting his eyes, he quickly darted around the pirate and half ran out the door. Hook hadn't managed to get a word out before the dwarf had left.

If he was going to do it, he may as well do it now. He wanted Henry's input too, and this seemed as good a time as any. He felt his heart pumping faster than usual as he turned and went back up the stairs. He hesitated at the door, but then knocked and opened it, walking in.

Zelena had already teleported back home with Robyn, and Henry was upstairs packing a bag. David and Snow had been smiling at each other over their own bags, but they both turned toward him looking surprised.

"Something else, Hook?" David asked. Hook hesitated again, his heart hammering harder than ever. Was he really this terrified? Could he truly be this cowardly? He rarely actually felt scared, and his heart never pounded like this for anything. Except sometimes, when he saw Emma.

Did he want to talk to all three together, or separately. Separately, he decided. He'd talk to her parents first, and then Henry. He finally nodded in response to David's question and then said, "I was hoping to talk to you both, now that you are both awake."

They exchanged looks, Snow looking curious, David wary, but they both nodded and came into the living room. His heart still pounding, he decided to sit at the table. He wasn't sure, but he thought his knees were actually shaking. What was wrong with him? He wasn't some teenager scared of his love's parents. He was older than both of them combined. What did he have to be afraid of? _What if they say no?_ He ignored the thought.

He sat at the table and motioned for them both to do the same. Again, they exchanged a look and both sat, eyeing him.

"What's this about, Hook?" David asked. Snow tilted her head at him, studying his face.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

In response, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the small box that he'd been carrying around for so many weeks. They were both watching him carefully, and David's eyes narrowed seeing the box. Snow looked curious. He placed it on the table in front of them. His voice seemed to have vanished.

Snow reached over and picked up the box, watching Hook's face. Slowly she opened the box and gasped. David stared, not at Hook, but at the ring that was shining up at them in its cushion.

"Hook…" Snow managed to say, staring at the ring. As one, they both looked up at him.

Carefully, still feeling his heart pounding, he found his voice, "I want to ask Emma to marry me."

They were both staring at him. David's face was completely unreadable, but after a minute, Snow's face broke into a smile. She put the box down and stood up, going around the table. He watched her come, unsure what to do. Suddenly, she'd put her arms around him and said, "I'm so happy for you, Killian. I know you and my daughter make each other so happy. You are welcome in this family."

He wasn't sure when he had stood up, but Killian found that he was hugging her back, a smile on his lips. "Thank you," he said. Slowly he pulled away from her and turned to face David, who was still sitting at the table. His face had gone very pale. "Listen, mate, I know you have reservations…" Killian started, but David suddenly met his eyes.

"You want to marry my daughter?" David asked bluntly, his voice was quiet and cold. Killian felt Snow stiffen next to him.

"David," she began, but he cut her off too.

"Are you asking our permission, or are you just telling us in advance?" David asked harshly. Killian felt the hairs on his neck stand up. _Permission?_ He hadn't really considered that it might be taken as a request for permission. He had really just been looking for their blessing, but he was not asking their permission. He was going to ask Emma either way. And David had no right to give him permission anyway. She wasn't property.

"David," Snow said again, but the Prince held Killian's eyes waiting for an answer.

"I'm not asking permission, mate. She's not your property," he said, trying not to sound too harsh. "This would be a decision between Emma and myself. All I was doing here was hoping to get your blessing." He hesitated and then added, "Do I have it?"

"Of course you have our blessing," Snow said, grasping Killian's shoulders and turning him to face her. "Emma loves you and that's all that matters. _Isn't it, David_?" she added harshly looking at her husband. Her face was angry and stern.

Killian followed her gaze and found the Prince staring at both of them, fire in his eyes. His face looked grim. But then he relaxed and sighed, "Of course. You have our blessing, Hook." He stood up, and looking as though he was walking toward the gallows, held out a hand to Killian, who took it.

"Thank you, mat—David," he said, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Hey Grandma!" Henry called from upstairs. Killian jumped, releasing David's hand, having momentarily forgotten that Henry was still in the loft. "Do you think I'll need a hat or scarf?"

"Yes, Henry. Assume that wherever we're going it'll be cold," Snow called back. Then she looked at Killian, lowered her voice and smiled conspiratorially. "Are you going to talk to Henry too?" He nodded, unable to form a smile of his own. He'd known that David would have been hard to persuade, but that Snow would have been on his side, so he wasn't too worried about it. Henry was another matter. He truthfully had no idea how the lad would react. "May as well do it now," Snow said to him. Killian nodded again and grabbed the box still sitting on the table, closing it in his fist.

He turned and quietly went up the stairs. He could feel David and Snow's eyes on his back. His heart was pounding again. In a way he was even more nervous about facing Emma's son than her parents. At the top of the stairs, he found Henry stuffing a jacket into a large backpack.

"Hook," Henry said looking up at the sound of his footsteps. "I didn't realize you were still here."

"Got a minute, mate?"

"Yea," Henry said smiling. "What's up?" He plopped down on his bed and waited for Killian to speak. Killian walked over and sat on a wooden chair across from the bed. As with facing her parents, Killian found that actions were easier than speaking, so he handed Henry the box. He took it curiously and opened it, blinking in surprise. Then he looked up at Killian, who felt his heart drop into his stomach. Henry's face looked conflicted. "Is this for my mom?"

Killian nodded and said, "Aye. And I was hoping for your blessing."

Henry tilted his head, consideringly. "You make her happy," he said. Was that an answer? Killian waited and finally Henry said, "It's okay, Killian."

"Is that a yes?" Killian found himself asking, still unsure. Henry studied his face for a few more seconds, and then smiled handing back the box. He nodded. It was done. They all approved. He found that he was smiling too. "Thank you Henry." He stood up, and Henry followed suit.

Not really sure if there was anything else to say, Killian turned to go back down the stairs.

"Just don't expect me to call you 'Dad.'" Henry said loudly behind him. Killian turned, surprised, and then chuckled at the smile on Henry's face.

"Wouldn't dream of it, mate," Killian said, smiling back. Then he turned and went down the stairs. Snow and David were still at the table and they looked up when he came back down. David looked curious, Snow anxious. They must not have been sure about how Henry would react either. He smiled at them and nodded. Snow breathed what was clearly a sigh of relief and smiled back. David just nodded back.

Figuring there wasn't anything else for it, he headed for the door to go home and pack a bag like the rest of them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Emma climbed down into the familiar cabin on the Jolly Roger and walked a few feet toward the table and turned. Captain Hook was already descending the ladder behind her. He looked just like the man she knew and she was both pleased and ashamed that she was pleased to see that he looked the same age as always.

"So tell me, love," he said, turning to face her after he'd climbed off the ladder. "What does a nice looking lass like yourself want with a pirate like me? Just a drink?" He smiled at her and leaned in close. She could smell his musk as he came close and took the bottle of rum from her. The scent was all too familiar and she had to remind herself forcefully that this was not _her_ Killian. This wasn't Killian at all. This was Captain Hook.

"To start," she said smiling back. He plunged his hook into the cork on the bottle and pulled it out in two swift moves. Then he put the bottle down on the table, pulled the cork off his hook and put that down too. Then, wandering over to the shelves, he pulled down two small glasses for them.

"Have a seat, love. Do I get to know your name?" he asked.

"Emma Swan," she said, hoping that he wouldn't recognize the first name as the name of the Princess. She sat on the bench that was nailed to the floor and he straddled the bench next to her and faced her.

"Beautiful name," he said smoothly. He poured out the liquid into the two glasses and put the bottle back down, and picked up the first of the two glasses, handing it to her. She took it, remembering the last time she'd gotten Captain Hook drunk. She didn't really want him drunk this time, just a little _comfortable_. She needed information, after all, not for him to pass out. He picked up his own glass and clinked it against hers.

They both drank, and she was surprised at how good it was. He poured them both another shot. He began asking questions about her, which she answered vaguely, trying to get him to drink a bit more. Subtly, she started asking about him. What was it like to be a pirate? How often did he make port? Did he ever steal from people inland?

He answered happily, not seeming to care much about shocking her, and he didn't.

"So tell me, _pirate_ ," she said silkily. "Do you ever steal things of magic?" She'd stopped really drinking. She'd taken over the bottle and was only pretending to pour more in her glass. She had to hold the glass in her fist, to keep him from seeing that it was always full, but fortunately, it was dark in the cabin and he was inebriated. She'd been here for over an hour already. Hopefully the other's had gone to bed and were not worrying about her.

"Magic?" he said, slightly slurring his words. "Do you know, love, how much gold there is in magical items?" She shook her head, smiling drunkenly. "My first mate, Mr. Smee, is particularly good at finding magical items. Potions, beans, wands, you name it. He's found it." Emma's heart skipped a beat.

"Beans and wands, huh?" she asked carefully. "Those are hard to come by. I've never seen a magic bean or a magic wand before. Do you have any?"

"Beans, I'm afraid not, love. Those go as fast as they come," he said, taking another drink. "I can show you a wand, although I doubt it's very magical at this point…" he stood up, swaying slightly and walked over to his safe.

 _He has it! He still has the wand!_ But why would he keep it? It's not like he could use it. And why would he think it isn't still magical? Emma felt her heart start to race, with excitement or nerves, she wasn't entirely sure. He took his hook off and placed the key that was on the back of it in the lock. She'd seen him do this before, of course, but she still thought it was clever. She watched carefully, trying not to look too excited as he reached into the safe and pulled out a long box. He closed the safe again, reattached his hook, and walked back over to the table with the box.

"Have a look," he said. Carefully, she opened the lid and looked inside. Her stomach lurched and her eyes widened. Inside the box were three pieces of what remained of the Sorcerer's Wand. It wasn't even the entire wand, other pieces were missing. She stared in disbelief. They were trapped. How else could they get home now?

"You okay, love?" Hook asked, actually managing to sound concerned.

"No," she said, not thinking. "What happened to it?"

"Long story involving an angry mermaid. Does it matter?" he asked curiously.

"I'll never get home now," she said quietly to herself. She still couldn't tear her eyes away from the broken pieces of the wand.

"Get home?" Hook asked. He stared at her, and she looked up realizing what she'd aloud. "Love, did you know that I had this?"

 _Oh no. Think of something, quickly!_ This version of her pirate could very well make her walk the plank if he thought she was trying to trick him. _Honesty_ , she thought. Hook was a good man, no matter what version of him she faced. Maybe he could help. "Yes, Captain, I did."

He stood up so suddenly that she jumped up too, spilling her full glass on the ground. "Who are you?" he asked suddenly angry.

She raised her hands to him, to show him that she meant no harm. "I told you, my name is Emma Swan. And," she hesitated as he was reaching for his sword. "I was hoping you could help me," she said quickly. He paused, staring at her. _Honesty._ "I'm from another land. I'm trying to get home, and I had heard you had that wand. That wand is capable of making portals. I'm just trying to get home, I swear."

His hand was on his sword and he looked suspicious, "so you were just going to steal it from me?"

"We just needed to use it once, to make the portal. We would have let you keep it after that, I promise," she said, stilling holding her hands out to him, palms forward.

"'We?'"

"Yes, I have a friend with me who's also from that land. We're just trying to get home. To our son," she said.

"You're telling the truth," he said and she wasn't sure if it was meant to be a question, but she nodded anyway. He took his hand away from his sword. "There may be another way to get you home," he said.

She felt her hands lower slightly. Was he serious? Was he trying to help? "What do you mean?"

"I've heard of a creature that recently returned to its home. It has magical abilities that are far superior to fairies, in a way. It can make a portal," he said.

"What creature?"

"It's called a genie. And it's from Agrabbah," he said, watching her reaction.

"Aladdin?" she said, shocked.

"Is that supposed to be its name?" Hook asked, quirking an eyebrow. His smirk had reemerged and he looked like he was relaxing again. Why would he trust her so quickly? Even willing to help? She stared at him.

"Why are you helping me?" she found herself asking aloud.

"A beautiful lass like yourself needs help. Getting back to a son, you said? Also, I'm fairly certain you can pay me to do it," he said, grinning.

"Pay you? Why do you think I can pay you?" she asked carefully.

"I may be a pirate, love, but I'm not blind… Emma. Princess Emma unless I'm much mistaken?" he said. His grin had widened, and he was leering at her. She took a step back, watching him carefully. What would her Captain Hook have done if he'd found himself in the private company of a princess? Would he have kidnapped her? She wanted to say no, but she wasn't sure. But this princess had magic, and he didn't know that. She would be okay if it came down to it. But then again… he wasn't offering to kidnap her, he was offering to help her… Unless that was just a ruse.

She subtly reached for one of the knives in her sleeve, and also readied her magic in case she needed it. "What do you intend to do with this information?" she asked slowly.

He smiled again and followed her a step forward. He eyed her hand, probably knowing what she hid up her sleeve. "I told you, your majesty. I want to help."

"Why?"

"You say you're from another land. Yet, clearly you are the Princess here. And I do know that you have a son here too. So, I'm curious what the truth is. This 'friend' of yours. Who is he? It was my understanding that the father of the Prince was dead," Hook said. This bastard could read between the lines in any land. Why did such a smart man have to become a pirate? Then a thought occurred to her.

"You are half right. My son, the Prince, his father is dead. His name was Baelfire," she said slowly, watching for his reaction.

"Baelfire…" Hook repeated in a whisper. Emma was pleased to see that his smile was gone now. He was staring at her.

"Yes," she said. "I believe you knew him… and his mother?"

She knew immediately that she had gone too far. She shouldn't have mentioned Milah, and only stuck with Neal. Hook was suddenly very angry and he rushed toward her, pushing her against the wall. "What do you know of Milah?!" he raged. He held her throat with his good hand and his hook was raised in the air as if to stab.

In one fluid motion, she pulled at the knife that she'd been prepared for and thrust the point into his abdomen. She didn't stab him, but made him aware of its presence. "Release me," she said calmly. He growled at her, but released her throat and took a step back away from the knife. She kept the knife in the same place and watched his face as he glanced at it and back at her. He looked torn between ire and being impressed.

"Well done, love. Not many could have gotten me into that position," he said, lowering his hooked arm. She put the knife back into his sheath up her sleeve, but didn't release it from her grip. Hook seemed to be steadying his emotions and then he said, "So, if Baelfire is your son's father, and he's dead…" Hook's voice waivered slightly at this, but he continued, "Who is this 'friend' of yours who is also trying to get back to your son? Unless… you have another?"

"Complicated question, Captain. In a way, I do have another son… but in a way, it's also the same son. I told you I'm from another land. What I didn't tell you is that I'm from another version of events, another reality, if you will," she said watching his face for a reaction. He blinked, but that was the only reaction he showed. He seemed to be considering her for a moment.

"And in this 'other reality,' you know me, don't you?" he asked knowingly. _Too smart for his own damn good._

"Why would you possibly think that?" she said, keeping her face as blank as possible.

"You seem to know the Jolly Roger, based on how you move around the cabin. You knew enough to come armed, but not openly. You brought me rum from my favorite tavern. And, love, unless I miss my guess, you were attempting to get me drunk while flirting in a very specific way. A way that, I'm guessing you know, I like. Therefore, I can only assume that you know me in this other land," he said, a small smile finally reemerging on his lips for the first time since she'd mentioned Milah. He was right on every count, of course, and she hated him and loved him for it.

Not that she loved him. Not this version of him anyway. She stared at him, not really sure how to respond. He took her silence as meaning that he was right and he stepped forward, only briefly eyeing her hand which was still up her sleeve grasping the hilt of the knife.

"So, who is he?"

"Who?"

Hook raised an eyebrow at her again, "Your 'friend.' Who is he that is also the father of your son?" Right! That's what they'd been talking about before he'd distracted her with questions about how she knew him. _Bloody pirate!_

" _She_ is his other mother actually. _Her_ name is Regina," Emma said

"You mean the Evil Queen?"

"Sometimes I hate you," she said before she could stop herself. Killian always knew too much, and apparently Hook was the same way. Not sure why she would expect anything different.

He smiled at her, "I didn't realize that we were _that_ close in your other land, love."

Making a decision, she finally released the knife's hilt and let her arms rest. She was still standing against the wall. Ignoring his last comment, she decided to explain the situation to the best of her ability. If he was sincere about helping her, he'd need to know the truth of the situation. And if he wasn't sincere, what could he do about it? Tell the dwarfs on her? The idea was laughable.

He started asking intuitive questions almost immediately, and by the time she was done explaining the situation and answering all his questions, they were both seated on the bench at the table again. He was sober and at least another hour had passed.

"So, this Aladdin is the reason you're here in the first place?" Hook finally asked when she'd stopped talking.

"Sort of…"

"Right, the Evil Queen wished you here," he said musingly. He picked up the rum bottle and took a swig, ignoring the glass. He offered the bottle to her and she matched his motion, taking a drink. He was watching her, and she tried to ignore it. She'd managed to be vague about her relationship with Killian and, strangely, he hadn't asked.

She handed him back the bottle and he took another drink. "So, will you help us?" she finally asked when he'd put the bottle back down.

He considered her for a moment before he said, "We can be under way immediately."

She shot him a look, slightly suspicious as to why he would be so anxious to help them. It couldn't just be curiosity. "I should go back to the inn tonight. My friends and I can be here in the morning. We'll pay you, of course." She stood up and started for the ladder, when suddenly, he was blocking her path.

"Sorry, love. Can't let you leave," he said, almost sounding sincere.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously. "Get out of my way."

"No, sorry, but you see, a princess is worth more than what you may pay me for fare. You walked freely onto my ship. By yourself. I would be a terrible pirate if I didn't take full opportunity of the situation," he said smiling. She reached immediately for her knives, and his good hand grabbed her wrist before she'd moved an inch. His hook was at her throat before she knew what was happening. "Mr. Smee," he called. The latch opened above their heads and Smee looked down at them both. He hadn't left the ship!

"Yes, Captain?"

"Have you prepared the brig?" he asked.

"Of course," Smee said smiling.

"Did you make it comfortable for our friend here?" Hook asked sweetly, not taking his eyes off of Emma. She was in a rage. This man. How could she have trusted this man? She knew who he was, what he was in this reality. She never should have separated from the others. But she had been so sure…

"As comfortable as a pretty lady in the brig deserves, Captain," came Smee's response.

"And her friends?"

"Mistress Little was kind enough to serve them the _special_ wine, as requested, Captain" Smee said grinning. _What?_

"What have you done?!" Emma spat at the man still holding her wrist.

"Well, the innkeeper was kind enough to let me know that there were some people looking for me. I never thought it would be a princess, of all things. But I do make a point to find out why people are asking about me, especially if I've never actually done anything to them. So I asked the lovely innkeeper for a favor, she owed me one anyway. And what did you do with them?" Hook asked.

"One of them is her son, the Prince; he's in the hold" Smee said cheerfully. "The others will sleep away the night and most of tomorrow in their rooms back at the inn."

"Two royals will fetch an even better ransom than one," Hook said to Emma. To Smee, he added, "And are we ready to make sail?"

"Aye, Captain."

Hook smiled at Emma, "Excellent, Mr. Smee. Knew I could count on you. Do see that my friend here is comfortable, and away from her son." In one swift movement, Hook had his own hand up her sleeve and had her own knife in his hand. He threw it on the ground, and was quickly, and deftly, frisking her, finding all the other knives she'd hidden. She was still ready for him though, once the opportunity presented itself. After he'd pulled the last knife from her boot, he stood up and smiled at her. "One more drink before you go, love?" he asked.

Finally, he pulled his hook away from her skin, and she held out her hands to him, blowing him backward into the ladder with magic. The shock on his face was clear, and extremely satisfying, and he fell to the ground, next to all her knives. Smee shouted a curse, and before she could aim her magic at him, he had thrown a heavy cudgel through the latch, hitting her in the head. Blackness enveloped her and she saw no more.

Emma woke to a bright beam of sunlight shining on her face from a small porthole in the hull of the ship. She was lying on a pallet on the floor, a soft blanket on top of her and a pillow under her head. She was in a cage, and Hook was on the other side of the bars, grinning at her.

"Good morning, love. Glad to see you finally awake. Your son has been shouting for you for hours," he said conversationally. She could feel the ship moving, and she knew they were long gone from Liamsburg.

"Damnit Hook," she said, grabbing the bars. "Why? Why all the games of pretending to help me if you were just going to kidnap me anyway?"

"For fun," he said, shrugging. "and I thought maybe I might be able to get to you to just come with me willingly, if I'd played my cards right. I've never had a royal in my bed before." She growled at him and took a step back. She quickly gathered her magic and shot bright beams of light at the bars. Nothing happened.

"What the hell?" she asked, staring at the bars.

"Aye, sorry, love. The Jolly Roger is not your usual ship. She's had all sorts of magical upgrades, including a brig which prevents escape, even by magic. You couldn't get out of there no matter how much magic you had," he said cheerfully. "I had hoped to have the Crocodile in these cells one day." His smile widened, "but a beautiful and magical princess will do for now."

"You bastard!" She reached through the bars, trying to grab him, but he was out of reach, and didn't move or flinch at her movement.

"Language, your Highness. I didn't think that the King and Queen had taught you like that. But then," he paused for effect and continued, "you weren't raised by a King and Queen, were you? Raised in a land without magic, and without parents. Unless you had completely made up that story you told me last night." She stared at him, feeling the fire of her rage under her skin. He went on, "It doesn't matter much to me either way, of course. Real or not, the King and Queen will pay handsomely for you and your son. So, get comfortable, love. You'll be here for a while." Then he raised an inviting eyebrow at her, "unless, you'd like to move into my cabin with me, of course."

She glowered at him, but then she smiled, "Good luck getting ransom from my parents. They're both dead."

He blinked at her in surprise, and his smile faltered for the first time. She grinned at finally surprising him and then, deciding that her ruse was no longer needed, she waved her hand, and she found herself back in her old clothes, feeling at least more herself, if still a prisoner. He blinked again at her new clothes and said, "Dead? I hadn't heard that they'd died. Well, I suppose someone in the castle will pay for their new Queen, then." He sounded almost sympathetic. "Nice outfit, by the way, I like the jacket," he smiled at her again and turned starting for the ladder.

"Don't do this, Hook!" she called after him. He ignored her and kept walking. "HOOK!" she called again. No reaction. "KILLIAN!" she shouted at him. Suddenly he stopped and turned around staring at her. His smile was gone. "Please, don't do this," she said to him. He stared at her for another moment, studying her face. Then he turned again and was up the ladder before she could say anything else.

There had to be a way out of this cell. She started testing the walls and ceiling with magic, but nothing even made a dent or a scratch. She wondered where Prince Henry was being held. She remembered the Jolly Roger only having one brig. Things must have changed on the ship in this reality. Apart from the pallet she'd woken up on, there was a stool and a bucket in a corner, and a small plate of food and a pitcher of water near the cage door.

She frowned and sat down on the pallet that was her bed. Now what the hell was she supposed to do?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Hook passed the other cells, without really seeing them. Prince Henry was shouting things at him, but he didn't pay it any mind. _Killian._ She'd called him Killian. No one had called him that since the day Milah had died. Who was this woman, and how did she even know his real name?

Emma Swan. There was definitely something different about this woman. Her story was ridiculous, but for some reason, he believed it. It explained a lot. And she'd been purposefully vague about how she'd known him. It was clear that if this other world truly was real, she definitely knew him. And that would explain how she knew his real name too.

But what kind of man was he, this other version of himself? Could they have been involved? That might explain why she knew his real name. But that was impossible, he'd never felt anything for any other woman since Milah. There's no way that this woman would have changed that. Although, she was certainly his type; fierce, independent, and beautiful. She would challenge him.

He shook his head and went up on deck, where the sky was clear and they were sailing well. Smee immediately came to his side, inquiring after the prisoners. Hook responded that they were as expected.

"Has a message been sent to the palace demanding the ransom?" Hook asked, looking out over the water.

"Aye, Captain, as ordered."

Hook nodded, expected nothing less. Then he told Smee to see after the ship, and that he was going into his cabin and did not wish to be disturbed. Smee looked surprised, but agreed without question, and Hook left him alone. Hook descended the ladder to his private cabin and laid down on the bed, closing his eyes. Swan's face swam before his eyes, and he opened them again in surprise. Why was this woman haunting him like this? Could it have been magic?

He'd never heard before that anyone in the royal family had magic, except for the Evil Queen of course, but she wasn't related to any of them by blood. So how could this woman have magic? He'd been caught by surprise the night before when she'd hit him with that blast. He was lucky he'd had a magic-proof cell. He certainly hadn't been expecting that the people who'd been asking about him were the Princess – Queen now, apparently – and the Evil Queen.

He and Regina had not had the healthiest of relationships in the past, but Swan's story made this version out to be nicer. Good. But he regretted not having kidnapped her too. Good or Evil, Regina would not be happy at what he'd done and she'd probably come after the princess; come after him. He sat up, unable to close his eyes without seeing that bloody woman's face. He hadn't slept since he'd met the woman for that reason, and it was starting to become a problem.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his flask. After pulling the cork out with his teeth, he took a much needed drink. _Killian_. He took another drink. She had trusted him for some reason, and seemed surprised at his treachery. Could another version of him really have changed that much? _Killian._ This woman was going to drive him mad.

He stood up and started pacing the room, his mind in a whirl. Why was he so troubled. This wasn't the first time he'd kidnapped someone for ransom, not even the first time he'd kidnapped royalty for ransom. It was, however, the first time that said royalty had come onto his ship of their own accord. Why would she do that unless she trusted him? Unless she thought she could overpower him with magic? His head hurt and he took another drink.

Suddenly, there was an enormous BOOM and the entire ship rocked. He stumbled, almost dropping the flask, and spilling a lot of it down his front.

"What the bloody hell…!" he exclaimed, and he quickly corked the flask and dashed up the ladder to the top deck. His entire crew was scrambling about the deck, several starting to load cannons.

"Report, Mr. Smee!"

"We're taking fire, Captain!" Smee yelled at him, running to meet him. Hook ran to the railing and looked behind them. Another ship with large black sails was firing their cannons at them. He knew that ship. And despite his bragging that the Jolly Roger was the fastest vessel in the lands, it wasn't quite true. This ship could outrun him…. barely.

"Turn her about!" he shouted. "Ready the cannons, you bilge rats!" The crew rushed to obey. The other ship was quickly sailing parallel to them and a bunch of angry pirates yelled at them from across the water. One in particular was grinning directly at Hook, a look half smug, half drugged. Hook had never understood how the man operated the way he did. It was like everything that went right for the man was by pure luck.

"Fire!" Hook yelled at his crew, and cannonballs began flying across the water. The captain of the other ship lurched sideways as the water began to explode around his ship, tossing them about. Hook felt a similar sensation under his own feet.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, everything froze. _What the bloody hell is going on now?_ Hook thought to himself. He couldn't move, he realized, and his crew appeared to be frozen as well. He could just see the other ship. They had ceased their firing as well, but the crew did not appear to be having the same problem as them. Their obnoxious captain was holding something blinding white in the air over his head. A bright light emanated from the object in the man's hand and Hook fell on the deck, unconscious. The rest of his crew quickly followed suit.

Hook awoke to find himself in a familiar looking cell. He was caged on his own ship! Emma was sitting on the stool near him, her arms crossed, but a wickedly satisfied grin was on her face.

"Good morning, Hook," she said bitterly. "Glad to see you're finally awake." The echo of his own words was particularly painful to him. He sat up and looked around. The captain from the other ship was now standing where he himself had stood taunting this woman just this morning.

The man stood watching Hook, one hand resting on his sword, the other hand floating in the air, half raised, the fingers moving almost gracefully, and seemingly unconsciously. He forgot how much he hated this man. He'd always had the upper hand whenever they squared off, and he could never figure out how he had such a collection of magical objects.

"Where's my crew, _mate_?" Hook asked angrily.

"Well, that's an interesting question," the man said, raising his free hand to stroke his beard which was split into two small braids. "You always were an unusual pirate, Captain."

"Looks who's talking," Hook muttered angrily. Emma was staring at the other man, as though she thought she recognized him, but couldn't place him.

"Aye, I've never been one for convention, it's true. As for your crew, they're in the hold with the other prisoner you were holding. I thought it better to put you in this private cell, with this lovely lass, who I'm guessing is special in some way, judging by her accommodations?" he looked at Emma, seemingly for the first time and extended a hand to her.

" _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, at your service, darling," he said silkily. She gawked at him.

"Are you serious?"

He tilted his head at her, the beads in his hair clicking as he did so. "Aye, my dear. I would never lie to a lovely lady such as yourself." Emma continued to stare at him as though he wasn't real. Then she shook her head and blinked, looking almost amused. Then she looked at Hook.

"You never told me you knew Jack Sparrow!" she said. He raised an eyebrow at her.

" _Captain_ Jack Sparrow," the other man corrected her. Emma looked like she wanted to laugh. Hook ignored him.

"And when, love, would I have mentioned it in the day since we've known each other," he asked.

"Oh, right," she shook her head.

"And who might you be, my dear, that Captain Hook thinks so highly of you that you get your own private, magically guarded, cell?" Sparrow asked her.

She hesitated, and instinctively looked at Hook, who looked surprised, but then said, "This is Emma Swan. This woman had stolen from me, and I was keeping her here until she repented her wicked ways."

Both Emma and Sparrow snorted in derision, both well aware that he was making the whole thing up.

"Speaking of thievery, Hook," Sparrow said, and suddenly Hook was wary. He had almost forgotten. It had been years after all since he'd seen this man. "I want back the _item_ that you stole from me."

"Tell me you didn't spend the last 5 years just looking for that?" Hook said contemptuously.

"I've been keeping a weathered eye out for your ship, and wouldn't you know it, I finally spotted you this morning," Sparrow said, sounding drunk as usual.

"I don't have it anymore, _mate_. Why would I have kept it?" Hook said, trying to sound annoyed. The truth was, of course, that he did have it. He'd kept it as a trophy for the one time he had managed to best this drunken fool. Gods, he hated this bloody man.

"I will find it," Sparrow said, sounding bored. "I have your ship." _But you don't have my hook,_ Hook thought to himself gratefully. Had Sparrow taken it, they would be having a very different conversation. He just needed Sparrow to leave him alone for a time.

"Jack," came a beautiful voice from where the ladder was. Hook stepped forward to peer through the bars. A young woman was descending the ladder, and looked annoyed at her captain. Sparrow turned and faced the woman, a torn look of annoyance, joy, and… was that fear? "Jack," she said again striding forward. She wore a pirate's dress, a sword at her side, but she was lovely. Almost as lovely as Emma… "Why are we doing this? We were all set to jump that royal navy ship when you changed course. Why did we attack another pirate ship?"

She turned and peered into the cage. "Who are these people?" she added almost as an afterthought.

"Elizabeth my dear, meet Captain Hook, and Miss Emma Swan. Any relation?" he asked vaguely waving a hand.

"'Swan?'" Elizabeth asked surprised. She looked at Emma, but shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't know her."

"Any reason you should?" Emma asked confused.

"Elizabeth Turner," she said to Emma, holding out a hand through the bars. "But my maiden name is Swann." Hook blinked in surprise. Could that be coincidence? They didn't really look alike apart from both being young, lovely, and fair skinned. Emma stared at her for a moment, then shook her hand.

"Any chance you could let me out of this cell? I know the ship very well, I might be able to find whatever it is you're looking for," Emma said, looking harshly at Hook and then back at the other two. "And for the record, he kidnapped me. I stole nothing from him."

"'Kidnapped!'" Elizabeth repeated, sounding shocked. "Jack, you can't keep a kidnapped woman in a cell. Let her out!" It sounded suspiciously like a command. Who was this woman that she felt comfortable ordering Jack Sparrow around? She had a clear accent; noble born maybe? How could a noblewoman end up on a pirate ship? Surely she wasn't here _with_ Sparrow? Hook shook his head, confused. A swan and a sparrow don't generally go together… _but then neither does a swan and a hook_. He pushed the aggravating thought away.

"If you've only known Hook for a day, darling, how could you know his ship so well, eh?" Sparrow asked Emma consideringly. It was a fair question, and Hook suspected the answer lay in her story from the previous night. If she knew him as well as she'd hinted, then it would make sense that she would know the Jolly Roger as well.

"I said I know the ship well, never said I knew her captain," Emma said smoothly. Interesting statement, and true, but extremely misleading, Hook thought. Against his wishes, he found that he was impressed with this woman…. Again. _Very aggravating_.

"Fair enough, love," Sparrow said grinning. His fingers were playing with the air again, but he was watching Emma.

"So, let me out, and I'll help you look," Emma said pointedly. Sparrow raised his chin and tilted his head like a dog who'd heard a strange sound. It made the beads in his hair click again.

"Why did he kidnap you?" he asked her curiously. Emma made a frustrated sound in her throat.

"Because he's a jackass, and he thought it would benefit him," Emma said harshly, glaring at him. Hook thought that he should be insulted, but he knew it was true, so he just shrugged and nodded when Sparrow looked at him.

"Holding you for ransom, eh? You must be from a rich family, although you certainly don't dress like it," Sparrow added eyeing Emma's red coat and tight trousers. Hook eyed her clothes too, they were an odd combination, but they seemed to work for her. And he particularly appreciated how it showed off her curves. He forced down a grin.

"Jack…" Elizabeth said, almost warningly.

"Elizabeth!" came a new voice. Another man descended the ladder and then walked to the other two. He was shorter and leaner than Sparrow and had a similar accent to Elizabeth's. His hair was dark and hung around to his shoulders. He looked too pretty to be a pirate.

"Let me guess," Emma said grinning, studying the man. "Will Turner?"

The three people outside the cell stared at her.

"And how did you know that, miss…" Turner asked, prompting for her name. She'd been right. Did she know him from her "other reality" too?

"Swan," Emma said holding out her hand. "Emma Swan. And… lucky guess." She was grinning like she knew a secret. Turner looked from Emma to Elizabeth, eyebrows raised. "No relation," Emma added at the look. Turner shook her hand briefly through the bars. So this must be Elizabeth's husband, going by their last names. So she _wasn't_ with Sparrow.

"Elizabeth," Turner said, turning to his wife. "We should return to The Pearl. You're in no condition to be fighting."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "I'm pregnant, Will, not disabled. And I want to know what was so important that Jack felt the need to change our plans." Hook felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. Women on pirate ships were rare. Pregnant women on pirate ships even more so. And Pregnant women being on pirate ships of their own accord was unheard of. He couldn't help but glance at her stomach. She wasn't showing yet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Emma looked surprised too.

"It's a fair question, Jack," Turner said looking at Sparrow. Who were these people, who were so soft spoken and referred to their captain so casually? He was surprised that Sparrow allowed it. Or them. Hook didn't think that they were the logical choice for crew on a pirate ship. And they weren't on his crew the last time Hook had seen Sparrow, he was sure he would have remembered the woman at least. Of course, a lot could change in 5 years.

Sparrow turned back to Hook, "Where is it?" he asked.

"I told you, mate. I don't have it anymore," Hook growled through the bars.

"Listen, Captain," Emma said, grasping the bars and eyeing Sparrow. She also seemed to be addressing the Turner's as well as though they had some say. And maybe they did. "I'm just trying to get home. Let me and my son in the other cell go, and I'll help you find your item. Like I said, I know the ship. And I know how this man thinks."

Hook glared at her. He had no real attachment to the item, it wasn't even worth anything. Really it was just a trophy. A trophy that he took particular pride in. But was pride worth this? He could just give the bloody man his prize and be done with it.

Sparrow seemed to be considering Emma's offer. Turner looked at Emma and said, "What item?"

"That has yet to be determined," Emma said, glancing harshly at Hook. If Sparrow let this woman go, he'd never get his ransom. It wasn't worth this.

"Okay, listen, mate. Maybe I do still have it. If I give it back to you, will you release me, my crew, and my ship? That's a fair trade," Hook said hopefully. Sparrow's eyes swept back to him. The man always acted like a fool, but Hook knew that Sparrow was much more clever than he let on. He probably knew that if he let Hook out, that this wouldn't be over. Hook was already planning his revenge for this.

Sparrow unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Hook through the bars. Hook put up his hand and hook. With his other hand, Sparrow pulled out Hook's own key ring and unlocked the cell, "Come on out, love. We have a deal."

Emma grinned wickedly, looking at Hook before walking out of the cell. Sparrow slammed the door shut again and locked the door. Sparrow sheathed his sword. "Where do we look, darling?" Sparrow asked. "Where would he hide something the size of a hat?"

"Oh my god, Jack!" Turner exclaimed suddenly. "Are we seriously here for your hat?"

"I love that hat," Sparrow responded almost to himself, glaring drunkenly at Hook. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and Emma chuckled as though she'd expected the answer.

"So, where do we look?" Sparrow asked Emma again.

"Well, first of all," Emma said looking from Sparrow to Hook, her smile widening knowingly. "Take his hook…"

Hook tried not to panic. Apparently, she really did know him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A knock came at the door, and it opened before David or Snow could answer. Hook walked in, a small backpack over his shoulder, and his sword at his hip. The first thought that came to mind at the sight of the other man was that he wanted to marry his little girl. _Not so little anymore,_ came that annoying voice in his head that spoke the truth he didn't want to hear. Hook nodded to both him and Snow who'd been sitting at the table drinking cocoa, waiting for everyone else. Henry was sitting on the couch, his own backpack at his feet, playing on a handheld gaming device. Even David couldn't keep up with the different games that Henry played.

"We just waiting on the witch?" Hook asked looking around. David and Snow both nodded, but then a puff of smoke appeared and Zelena was standing before them.

"Did someone ask about me?" she said, a knowing smile playing on her lips. They all looked at her. Henry put his game on the table and stood up, shouldering his bag. "I take it you're all ready to go?" David stood up and Snow followed suit. Snow quickly shouldered her bag and went over to the crib where Neal was standing up watching them all. She picked him up and David helped her secure him in the front baby carrier that she was already wearing. When Neal was secure and Snow comfortable carrying both him and her backpack, David put on his own sword, put his gun in its holster, and then put on his backpack.

They all turned to Zelena who nodded and waved the wand. An impressive looking door appeared in the middle of the room.

"Do you know where this goes?" Snow asked suddenly when David was already reaching for the knob.

"It'll lead you to wherever it is that Regina had landed. I had to follow her path through blood magic. I imagine she's moved on from wherever she's landed by now, but you'll have to track her on your own once you get there. Like I said before, I'm not coming," Zelena said bluntly.

"The wand," Hook said holding out his hand. "You agreed to give it to us." Zelena made a disappointed face that clearly indicated that she was hoping they'd forget. Grudgingly, she handed it over to Hook who put it in an inside pocket. David had to force himself not to demand that the pirate give _him_ the wand. If this man was going to marry his daughter, he needed to really start trusting him, which was something he was already struggling to do.

David quickly went through a checklist in his head of things that he thought they may need. He thought he knew at least to which land they would be going, but he couldn't be sure. He looked at the others who all looked nervous, except for Hook, who looked eager. David reached for the door and turned the knob. He opened the door to a vortex that was almost familiar at this point. He thanked Zelena for her help and then stepped through the door.

Immediately he was standing in a familiar looking forest. Within only a few seconds, Snow, with Neal, Hook, and Henry were all standing next to him. The door vanished behind them.

"Soo… any idea where we are?" Henry asked looking around. "Are we in the Enchanted Forest?"

"I think so, kid," David said. He walked what he thought must be north and he quickly came upon a road. The trees were shedding their leaves and there was a cold wind blowing. They were all looking around nervously, not entirely sure where they were. They walked in silence, leaves crunching under their shoes. David was happy to see that Neal had already fallen asleep. Walks always did that to him.

After a few minutes, a large statue came into sight. Curiously, they approached it, and David felt his mouth fall open. He was staring at his own face, carved in marble. His and Snow's. The plaque beneath the statue declared this the spot that "Princess Snow White and her Prince Charming defeated the Evil Queen and took their proper places on the thrones as the new Queen and King."

David looked at Snow who was reading the plaque and then looked back at him. There was a mixture of sadness and pride in her face. It was odd to see what one could consider to be proof of their victory over Regina, especially when Regina was now their friend in reality. So this was the world that Aladdin had created. A version of events where they hadn't been cursed. Where they'd defeated the Evil Queen and there was no need for a Savior. Emma would have grown up a proper princess.

Henry was grinning at the two of them and Hook looked conflicted.

"She never would have met me here," Hook whispered. David wasn't sure that anyone was meant to hear, but he was sure that Henry had heard too and his grin faded. It's possible that Henry didn't exist in this reality either.

"David!" Snow suddenly gasped. She was looking at what appeared to be a poster attached to a nearby tree. They all walked over to it, and he saw that there was a drawing of him and Snow on it, but they were much older, greying and slightly wrinkled with crown's on their heads. Under the drawing was:

 _King David and Queen Snow White_

 _of the Enchanted Forest_

 _now rest in the hands of Olympus._

 _Their lives will be honoured and_

 _Princess Emma will be crowned Queen upon her return_

 _from seeking retribution for their Highness' deaths._

They all looked at each other after reading the poster. "What do you think?" David found himself asking Snow.

"I don't know. This poster is clearly recent; two days posted at most. We might be able to get more answers at the castle," Snow suggested.

"Won't that look a little strange, the now dead King and Queen showing up at their own castle, looking 30 years younger?" Hook said. David had to admit that he had a point.

"But how else will we find Emma and Regina?" Snow asked them. "This says that Emma left to 'seek retribution,' whatever that means. She must have been going after whoever killed us – them."

David stared at the poster. Is that really what he and Snow would look like in 30 years. At least he looked regal. But how could they find Emma if she was off somewhere looking for revenge. He was sure that was what the poster meant. Did she even remember them here? Or this version of them anyway? If they showed up, how would she react. They needed Regina's help. But where would she be?

"I don't think it's a coincidence that we – or the versions of us here – died shortly after Emma and Regina came here," David said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

"Regina," David said still staring at the poster.

"You don't think she…" Snow trailed off, sounding scandalized.

"I think Regina would have done whatever it took to snap Emma out of whatever daydream she was living in here. Regina may have gone so far as to kill our other selves to do so," David theorized.

"I have to admit, mate, that makes sense. But if Emma really doesn't remember her real life, would that have even worked?" Hook asked sounding as though he was trying to keep his voice level.

"Again, I think we need answers. We need to go to the castle. The dwarfs probably know," Snow said insistently.

"That may not be necessary," Henry said. Glancing over he saw that Henry was looking at the sky. No, not the sky. A small blue light was moving toward them.

"What do you…" Snow began but then she noticed it too. Suddenly, the blue light glowed brightly and Blue was standing before them in her old fairy costume. It was odd to David to see her like that, having gotten used to her as a nun. "Blue!" Snow said, smiling.

She was looking at each of them in turn. She was studying them carefully, finally she said, "You are Emma Swan's true family."

They all stared at her. Finally Hook said, "So Emma knows the truth?"

Blue looked at him, her head tilting to the side slightly. "I don't know you," was her only response.

"Blue," David said. "This is Hook. He's Emma's…" David couldn't even bring himself to say it and Hook glanced at him, noticing. Snow was watching him too, a knowing eyebrow raised.

"Hook," Blue said, trying out the name. "As in _Captain_ Hook? Hmmm…" she studied Hook a moment longer and then said, "Yes, Emma has regained her true memories." David heard Hook release a breath he must have been holding. Blue continued, "She and Regina are on their way to find… well… you, actually."

"Me?" Hook asked incredulously.

"Well, the version of you that lives here. They were looking for the Sorcerer's wand, and seemed to believe that you had it," Blue explained. "The four of them set out about a week ago. I've had little news of their travels, except to hear that they landed at a port town called Liamsburg a day or so ago, but I haven't heard anything since then," Blue told them.

"Mother Superior," Henry said. Blue stared at him. "Sorry, I mean, Blue, you said that the 'four of them set out?' Who were the other two? Did some of the dwarfs go with them?"

"No, they were traveling with your other self, Prince Henry, and a thief known in these parts as Robin Hood," Blue said. David felt his mouth drop open. _Robin Hood!_ How would that affect Regina? How did Robin even come to be traveling with them? That made no sense. Glancing at the others, Snow, Hook, and Henry were showing similar levels of shock at this news.

"Oh Regina," David heard Snow say quietly, sounding both sad and piteous. Blue eyed their shocked faces but didn't say anything.

Suddenly, a blast of wind and light hit Blue right in the stomach, causing her to gasp and then she was gone before David could blink. Then he heard a laugh. An all too familiar laugh. A high-pitched wicked laugh that was almost a giggle. As one, the four of them spun around and faced Rumpelstiltskin, looking like he had all those years ago, a metallic glint to his skin and hair, long pointed fingernails, and reptilian clothing. They stared at each other.

"So, Regina was telling the truth?" he said, sounding gleeful. "There's another reality, where my curse was cast. And that's where you're all from." None of them said anything, but David felt his hand reaching for his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hook doing the same thing.

Neal had woken up and started crying. Snow put her arms around him and began bobbing up and down attempting to shush him. David walked over to Snow, hoping his presence might help calm his son, but he never took his eyes off the Dark One.

"Who's the rug rat?" Rumpelstiltskin asked pointing to Neal.

"Our son, Neal" Snow said defensively, holding Neal tighter.

"Interesting. You didn't have another child here. And tell me, dearies, why are you with _him?_ " the Dark One continued, now pointing to Hook. Hook was staring hatred at the other man, and Rumpelstiltskin returned the gaze emphatically.

"I'm here to find Emma, Crocodile. Nothing more," Hook said through gritted teeth. He was still grasping his sword.

"I am just so curious about this other world," Rumpelstiltskin said. "I have questions, and I think you're the best people to answer. I suppose I could have gone to Regina and Emma, but they both have magic now, and none of you do. Easier to talk to you," he giggled again. "What I want to know is…"

David cut him off, "Your son."

Rumpelstiltskin stared at him, "Excuse me?" There was a hint of threat in his voice and he was baring his teeth.

"You want to know about your son. If you found him or not." David said knowing that this would be the best way to distract him. _And Belle_. There was a good chance that this version of the Dark One didn't even know that Belle was still alive… and probably old now. He'd hold on to that trump card until he had to.

"How do you know about that?" the Dark One hissed through clenched teeth.

"Because we know all about him. And your relationship with him. A lot of things happened in our world. Things that even you couldn't have foreseen," David said carefully.

"So where is he? Is he still there?"

"No," Henry said suddenly. David stared at Henry. _Don't tell him that his son died!_ David thought fiercely. Hook and Snow were looking at Henry as though they were thinking the exact same thing. Rumpelstiltskin didn't notice and only had eyes for Henry.

"You're the Savior's son, yes? I recognize you from your posters, dearie. _Prince Henry!_ Guess she had you in both realities. And what do you know about my son?"

"You hit the nail on the head exactly," Henry said calmly. Rumpelstiltskin stared at him, clearly not understanding. "There's a version of myself in this reality. That can only mean that your son, Baelfire, is here." David suddenly understood where Henry was going with this. Clever. Rumpelstiltskin narrowed his eyes at Henry, clearly still not understanding, so Henry finished, "I'm your grandson."

"Liar!" Rumpelstiltskin spat, staring wide-eyed at Henry.

"It's true," Snow said, still bobbing up and down trying to calm Neal. "Your son, Baelfire, is Henry's father. If Henry exists in this version of events too, that can only mean that Baelfire is here. Or was, 15 years ago."

Rumpelstiltskin stared from face to face trying to find the lie. Clearly he couldn't because his eyes landed back on Henry, his face almost looking stricken. "Bae," he whispered. Then loudly, he said fiercely, "where is he now? The Princess here never married, and very little is known about Prince Henry's father, but maybe…" he trailed off and waved his hand.

David felt the ground under him lurch as a cloud of smoke engulfed all of them. When the smoke cleared, they were standing in the Great Hall in their old castle. They all looked around, the room was empty, but well-lit as though someone has just left. Maybe Rumpelstiltskin lit the lamps when they arrived. The Dark One was standing under a large portrait of a man in noble-looking garb, holding a sword. It was Neal.

" _This_ ," Rumpelstiltskin said, indicating the portrait, "is all that's really known of Prince Henry's father. Princess Emma had insisted that it be hung here shortly after the boy's birth." Reading the plaque under the portrait, David saw that it said _Sir Neal_. "And you're telling me that this ' _Sir Neal'_ is really my son? And can you please explain to me, why your son bares the same name?"

 _Damn!_

Henry was staring up at the face of his father. Hook was too. Both looked as though they were trying to hold back tears. Young Neal had started crying again.

"Look," Snow said slowly, patting Neal's back. "You were reunited with your son in our reality. And he forgave you." Rumpelstiltskin was staring at Snow, absorbing every word she said. "But we don't know what happened to him here. We're trying to get back to our daughter. Maybe if you can help us find her, she can tell you what happened. She should have memories from this world as well as ours."

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her for almost a minute. Finally he said, "Your daughter should be back in your world by now. I had given _Regina_ ," he sounded as though he disliked saying the name, "a magic bean so that they could return. I know that they used the bean. If they have not returned to your world, then something went wrong."

"We were told that they were headed to Liamsberg," David said. He didn't want to give too many specifics. Mention of the sorcerer's wand or the Captain Hook from this reality may set this Dark One off. "They seemed to be looking for something there that would help them return."

"Well, then…" Rumpelstiltskin said in his high pitched voice. He waved a hand again, and suddenly they were standing on an unpaved street in an unfamiliar town. "Here we are," he added cheerfully. Judging by the angle of the now setting sun, they were several days north of where they had been in the forest. "I'll tell you what," the Dark One said when they were all still looking around. "You find your daughter, and maybe I'll help get you home, _if_ she can tell me what happened to my son."

"You want to come with us?" Snow said, sounding as though she was trying to keep fear and disgust from her voice.

Rumpelstiltskin giggled and waggled his fingers, "heaven's no, dearie! If I'm going to find my son, I need to find another portal for you all. The bean that I'd given Regina took days to find. Finding another won't be easy. Find your daughter, and if she can tell me what I want to know," his voice was rising in a sing-song fashion, "and I'll find you a way home."

And just like that, he was gone again.

"Bloody coward," Hook muttered under his breath. David was inclined to agree with the pirate on this one. They didn't even agree to the man's deal. He must have been distracted.

"So now what?" Henry asked.

"I guess we ask around," David said. Looking behind himself, he noticed that they were standing near the entrance to a port. A large ship was docked nearby and David could see only a couple of crew members on board. On the hull David could see the royal crest. It was a ship of the Royal Navy. He turned and walked toward the ship.

"Hold for a moment, mate," Hook said, catching David's shoulder. David turned and looked at him, confused. "You and your wife are supposed to be dead here, and even if these folks don't know that, don't you think they'll wonder at your age? Maybe Henry or I should do the talking. If anyone recognizes you, we may have more problems on our hands."

"He's got a point, David," Snow said, rocking Neal, who seemed to finally be falling back asleep.

"Besides," Henry said, sounding slightly amused. "I wouldn't mind playing Prince for a bit." David sighed and nodded. Then he pulled his hood out from his jacket and put it up, hiding his face. Snow followed his example and they let Hook and Henry take the lead toward the ship.

As they approached the ship, a man descended the gangway and met them on the dock. He was staring at Henry. "Your Highness!" He bowed deeply and David thought he saw Henry stand a little taller. He could almost sense the smile that Henry was probably trying to hide. "When we'd heard that the Princess was kidnapped, we had feared the worst for you and your mother. And your friends of course."

"Kidnapped!" Hook cut in sharply. "What do you mean kidnapped?" He sounded panicked. He heard Snow gasp, and David could feel his own heart racing. What could have happened? As one, the two of them walked forward to join the others, all thoughts of anonymity forgotten. The crewman had looked at Hook for the first time when he spoke and suddenly he was looking panicked too.

"Captain Hook!" he almost shouted taking a step back. "It's you! CAPTAIN!" he did shout the last word. Another man, tall with dark hair quickly ran down to meet them. He had his sword in his hand, and in short order, Hook and David had drawn their swords as well. What was going on?

"Captain Hook!" the new arrival said, his sword at Hook's throat. "Where is Princess Emma?" Hook had his own sword aimed at the man's wrist, his hook pushing against the sword at his throat.

David pushed his own sword at the new Captain's throat and said, "Release him and answer our questions, Captain."

"I must arrest this man for the kidnapping of Princess Emma and possibly her other companions," he said without lowering his sword or taking his eyes of Hook. Then he added, addressing Henry, "I am pleased to see that you are all right, my Prince. But what are you doing with this pirate?"

"Hook did not kidnap my mom," Henry said quickly. His own hands were outstretched to the captain. "Please release him Captain, and we can explain." The captain hesitated but lowered his sword. Hook and David did the same and finally the captain looked at the others. His eyes swept over Henry, but then found Snow and David's faces and he gasped. The other crewman, David realized, had already been staring at him and Snow.

"Your Majesties!" the Captain said after catching his breath. And just as quickly, he was down on one knee, his crewman quickly following his lead. "Forgive me, I had not realized that you were here."

"Rise, Captain," David said warily. He had almost forgotten how much he'd hated people bowing to him. Snow might have grown up used to it, but to David it always felt wrong. The two men slowly rose and stared him and Snow down. The crewman looked nervous, but the captain was studying his face.

"Forgive me, your Majesties, but we had heard that you were…"

"Dead?" David supplied.

The captain nodded and then added, "and your faces seem…"

"Young?" Snow finished. The captain nodded again, clearly confused.

"Rest assured, Captain, we are who we appear. Queen Snow and I have been affected by magic, but we are both alive and well, as you can clearly see. We've had to move quietly, however, so we can find our daughter," David explained, trying to sound like he wasn't making this up as he went. The captain nodded, and David asked, "Can I know your name, Captain?"

"Norrington, your Highness. Captain Norrington. I had supplied passage to Princess Emma and her companions from the Royal Port to here. We had only arrived yesterday morning," Norrington explained.

"Please tell us what happened, Captain," Snow said. Norrington eyed Hook and Henry and then explained that at some point during the night the Princess had boarded the Jolly Roger alone, and only a few hours later, the ship had departed. Norrington had heard on good authority that she and her son, the Prince, had been kidnapped by Captain Hook. It was unknown where the other companions were, but he did know for sure that they had not been seen since the kidnapping. Clearly his sources had been wrong on some points as Captain Hook and the Prince were both here. David tried not to panic. The Captain Hook from this version of reality had kidnapped Emma. What would that version of Hook do with her? He tried not to dwell on the possibilities. _Emma has magic. She can hold her own_ , he assured himself.

When Captain Norrington ceased his short story, Hook growled, "And why haven't you gone after them?"

"We were preparing to make way," Norrington said, eyeing Hook suspiciously. "But when we went to depart, we'd discovered that half our crew had been drugged, and that parts of the ship had been sabotaged. We've been working to make repairs all day." So they were only a day behind.

"If the Jolly Roger has a day's lead on us," Hook said to David, "no ship will ever catch up to her."

"We have to try," Snow said.

"Forgive me, Captain," Norrington said, addressing Hook. He sounded as though he was trying to sound courteous for David and Snow's sakes, but it was taking a lot of effort. "But why aren't you with your ship?"

"Mutiny. Never trust pirates," Hook said quietly. He almost growled saying the words. David knew that the crew of the Jolly Roger would never mutiny against Hook, and Hook certainly wouldn't have allowed it, if they'd tried. It must have cost him a lot to say those words, knowing they weren't true. Norrington, however, seemed to take his tone as from a man betrayed and nodded.

"Do you know which way they sailed?" David asked.

"South," Hook answered him. David looked at the pirate inquiringly. The others were looking at him too. "If they'd planned to kidnap the princess, they would be doing it for ransom. In order to make a ransom demand, they would have to go back to the Royal Port. It's what I would do," he added quietly. David nodded. It's what his doppelganger would do, is what he meant.

"If we help you prepare, can we follow them south as quickly as possible?" David asked Norrington.

"Of course, your Highness. Of course, I would never ask you to help with the repairs, but I can have my cabin made up for you and the Queen…"

"We'll help," David said firmly. "Just tell us what to do."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Emma eyed Hook maliciously as he stepped backward, further into the cell and out of the grasp of Jack or Will. He had a caged look on his face, as well he might, and he was hiding his hook behind his back. Jack unlocked the cell again and gave the key to Elizabeth. Jack and Will both entered the cell, swords drawn toward Hook, who was now backed against the hull.

"Look now, I don't know why she thinks this is necessary, but I assure you its…" Hook began, but whatever excuse he was planning to come up with was lost when Jack pressed his sword into Hook's throat.

"The hook, if you don't mind," Will said. Hook eyed both men, trying to find some way out. Elizabeth had locked the cell behind them when they'd entered and was standing well away from the bars, eyes focused on Will.

Emma couldn't believe her luck. Of all the characters she could have met on this trip, she runs into Jack Sparrow, and Will and Elizabeth. She'd always loved _Pirates of the Caribbean_ , but it had never occurred to her that that might be real too. Most of the people she'd met during her time in Storybrooke were fairy tale characters, but maybe every story she'd ever heard, every movie she'd ever seen, maybe all of it was real. She shook her head. _Focus!_ she scolded herself.

Will now had his sword at Hook's throat and Jack was pulling Hook's arm out from behind him.

"If you turn it, you'll hear a click, and it should come right off," Emma called into the cell to them. Hook would pay for trying to kidnap her, she thought viciously. Hook glared at her over Will's shoulder. Emma heard a click, and suddenly both Will and Jack were backing away from Hook, swords still aimed on him. Elizabeth stepped forward and unlocked the cell again to let them out. Hook was wearing an expression of hatred, but strangely not aimed at her. He was glaring at Jack with all his might.

How could Killian have never told her that he knew Jack Sparrow? He would be getting a talking to when she got home.

The men backed out of the cell, and Elizabeth quickly closed the door and locked it up tight again. Jack sheathed his sword and turned to face Emma. "So, Emma, now what?" he asked, his accent, or maybe rum, slurring his words slightly. Suddenly she remembered how much of a crush she had on Jack Sparrow in her early 20s. Maybe that's when she first started having a thing for pirates? After Neal, she'd known she'd already had a thing for bad boys, and with pirates being the ultimate bad boys…. She forced her thoughts off that rail.

She motioned toward the hook, which he was holding by its rounded curve. "Turn it over," she said. He deftly flipped the hook over and for the first time noticed the key that was coming out of the back. He smiled at her and she went on, "and follow me."

She led the group back up the ladder, leaving Hook to stew in his own hold. When she came up to the next deck, she saw the rest of Hook's crew crammed into 4 more cells, Prince Henry shoved against the hull of his own cell now packed with pirates. She pointed him out, and he looked at her in surprise.

"Let him out," she said in a commanding tone.

"We had no deal regarding any other prisoners, love," Jack said smoothly.

"Jack," both Elizabeth and Will said in the same warning tone. Jack eyed them both, sighed, and then motioned for the guards to let Prince Henry out of his cell.

"Mother, what is going on here?" he said immediately when he joined them.

"Henry, meet Captain Jack Sparrow, and Will and Elizabeth Turner," Emma said, wishing that Regina was here to join her in the amusement of meeting these people. Henry just nodded toward the others.

"Follow me." She led them beyond the remaining holding cells and up another deck where some of Jack's crew appeared to be looting the ship, and she could hear more on the open deck above. Without saying anything else, she led them straight to Hook's cabin, the door opening next to the ladder that lead above. Without asking, she took the hook that Jack was still holding, and fit it into the lock in the safe on the shelf.

Everyone crowded into the cabin, making it feel much smaller than she remembered it ever being, and she turned the hook, opening the safe. Inside was a number of trinkets and some gold, but no hat. Which she knew there wouldn't be.

"Love, me hat would never fit in that tiny safe," Jack said dismissively. She grinned conspiratorially at him, and reached into the safe, pulling on a small lever that she knew was there, but blended into the safe wall so well, it would have been impossible to see without knowing it was there. There was a _chink_ and a _clunk_ and Emma pushed on the entire wall that the safe was on. The wall gave slowly and as she pushed, Will came over and began to help her push the wall.

The others watched in astonishment as a small room came into view. Objects of various sizes and value packed the room, including…

"Ah ha!" Jack exclaimed bounding into the room. A 3-cornered hat was sitting on a trunk near the back. Jack picked it up and gleefully put it on his head. He spun to face the others with a look of triumph on his face. Emma noticed Elizabeth roll her eyes, but Will was chuckling. Emma found herself grinning too.

"Now what?" Emma asked him.

"Now, we can be on our way," Jack said. "We had other plans for today."

"What about us?" Emma asked cautiously. "And Hook and his crew?"

Jack's right hand, which seemed to usually be floating in the air, the fingers moving endlessly, moved to his chin and he looked thoughtful, "hmmm," he said. "I think I might leave them in your capable hands. You seem to know this ship intimately, so I'm going to guess you know how to sail her?"

Emma motioned to the loot still sitting in the hidden room, "Don't you want any of this?" Emma felt no guilt at all about letting another pirate take this Hook's collection. Only a bit of it even looked valuable. Most of it seemed to be hoarded junk, like Jack's hat.

Jack eyed the random assortment of items, grabbed the only bag that appeared to have any gold in it, gave it a small shake and pocketed it. Then he looked around the room again quickly and shook his head, "Thank you, no, love. I got what I came for. And I suspect Captain Hook will enjoy his stay in the hold under your… watchful eyes." He hesitated, his eyes widening, as though only just noticing her face. He took a step closer and grinned at her. "You know, love, I've become accustomed to having a beautiful woman or two on me ship." Behind Jack, Will coughed pointedly and Elizabeth glared, although she looked like she was trying to hide an amused grin. "Perhaps you might be inclined to join me crew? You certainly seem more than capable."

He raised an eyebrow at her, which reminded Emma forcibly of when Killian was being suggestive. It made her miss him more, but she smiled at Jack nevertheless, and said in a smooth voice, " _Captain_ , that is a very enticing offer, but," she cleared her throat and stepped back, talking normally again, "we really should be getting on our way. Thank you for the rescue."

The former princess in her told her she should curtsey. Of course, she was wearing jeans, so instead she inclined her head in a gracious motion. Behind her, Emma suspected that Prince Henry wasn't sure what to make of the exchange. He probably wanted to arrest Jack right alongside Hook for piracy.

Surprising her, Jack walked up to her and hugged her. Not entirely sure what to do, she stood there awkwardly until she realized that his hand just found its way to her backside and she pushed him off with an oath. He grinned mischievously at her and then bowed formally. "By your leave, darling," he said rising back up, grin still on his face. Then he turned and climbed the ladder to the upper deck.

Will and Elizabeth both gave their goodbyes, Elizabeth muttering a quick word of apology on behalf of her "captain," and then they both left too. Prince Henry gave Emma a questioning look. She shrugged and then followed them back on deck.

The sun was starting to set, and the crew of the Black Pearl was already making their way back to their own ship.

"Oh, before I forget, love," Jack called to her from the bow. He tossed her the keys to the brig below and then plunged Hook's hook into the mast. He then grabbed hold of a rope and leaped across the water, landing surprisingly gracefully on his own ship, the last to arrive. "If you ever change your mind about joining me crew…" Jack called over the water, winking to her and letting the sentence hang in the air.

Suddenly, he was calling orders and the Black Pearl was sailing away in the direction from which it'd come.

"Can… can you sail a pirate ship?" Prince Henry asked her as they watched the Pearl sail out of sight.

She looked at him, a smile playing on her lips, "I can sail _this_ pirate ship."

"So what do we do, go back to Liamsburg?" he asked her.

"Yes, we have to pick up Regina."

"Mother, what happened last night? I don't really remember much after you left with that pirate to go find Hook."

"Long story, short? Smee and that Innkeeper fed you and the others drugged wine. You were kidnapped because they figured out who you were, Regina and Robin were dumped in their rooms in the inn. From what Hook was saying it sounded like they were probably out most of today," Emma explained. Emma thought she heard Henry growl in his throat. Studying him, she asked, "any idea what they did with our things, or your sword?"

Henry started to answer her, but then she realized that she was being stupid. She waved a hand, and her pack and Henry's pack, along with Henry's sword all appeared at their feet. As she guessed, they'd been brought on board when Henry had been. Had they been left in Liamsburg, her magic probably wouldn't have reached them. Henry cut off mid-sentence watching the items appear. Then he grinned at Emma and asked how they could start steering the ship.

Again, Emma just waved her hand, and she felt the ship lurch under her feet, turning around back into the direction from which they'd come. When the angle was right, she increased the wind too to help speed them along.

Feeling slightly awkward, she walked over to where the hook was still hanging from the mast. She plucked it out of the wood and looked at it carefully. It looked perfect as usual. Somehow, this hook never dulled, and seemed to always shine. Vaguely, she wondered if it was magicked to be like that. Staring at the hook, she realized that she was longing for Killian more than ever before. Without really thinking about it, she wandered back to the hatch that lead to Hook's cabin.

"I'm going to lay down for a bit," she told Henry. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Henry was watching her with a concerned look on his face.

Before she got to the hatch, she heard from behind her, "You miss him, don't you?"

She turned around to see that Henry had followed her to the hatch. She was still holding the hook like a delicate flower. "Miss him?" she asked cautiously.

"Your Hook. Your Killian. You didn't really tell me much about that situation back in your world, but it's clear that you care for him. Being kidnapped by someone who looks and sounds like him must have really hurt you," Henry said, watching her.

"When did you get so insightful?" she asked sardonically. But she smiled at him sadly, anyway. He didn't answer her, but instead just waited for her to answer him. "Yes," she sighed. "Yes, I miss him. You're right. I didn't really tell you about that, because it was clear you didn't approve of him. But he's different in my world. He's a good man. And he loves me, without a doubt, he loves me."

"You love him?"

She nodded, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

"Go lay down," Henry said after a minute of silence. "I'll keep an eye on things up here." She thanked him, and began to turn back to the hatch when she changed her mind, and quickly pulled Prince Henry into a hug. She felt him hug her back tightly, and she thought how she regretted leaving this Henry behind when she went back to Storybrooke.

As she climbed down the ladder back into Hook's cabin, she began to wonder what would happen to this reality when she and Regina left it. Would it continue on without them, or would it cease to exist? She hoped that it would continue on. Henry would be a good ruler, and he would understand why she had to go. But he would be alone.

She laid down in the familiar bunk attached to the wall, still holding the hook, and closed her eyes. She didn't want this Henry to end up alone. He was still only 14, he didn't deserve to be alone on top of being the sole heir to a kingdom. But what could she do? She couldn't stay, her real son needed her. Killian needed her. Her parents needed her. And she needed all of them.

She woke up suddenly to a tight pain on her wrists. She opened her eyes to see Hook standing over her, smiling. He had his hook back and was just releasing her hands, which were now bound in front of her and inside what appeared to be a burlap sack. She tried to sit up, but had difficulty without her hands, and was hindered further when she realized that her ankles were bound too.

"How?" was all she managed to get out.

He smiled at her again, an eyebrow raised, "Never make a cage that you yourself can't get out of, love. Something I learned a long time ago. And," he glanced at the bag over her hands, "don't bother trying magic. It won't work."

She stared at him, and despite his words, attempted to blow the bag off her hands, or untie her bindings. Nothing happened. He really had been prepared to capture the Dark One.

"What did you do with Henry?"

"Your son is fine. And back in his cell. I do appreciate you taking such good care of my ship for me, after Sparrow left. I'm surprised he did, but then, he never was one for doing what's expected. I also thank you for taking care of my hook. I admit, I was surprised to find you asleep and holding it the way that you were. This 'other me' of yours must have made quite the impression on you," he smiled at his hook and then at her.

"You'll never be him," she growled, in spite of herself. He chuckled and then grabbed her arm, forcing her to her feet.

"You've been asleep for quite some time, Your Highness," he said, changing the subject. "I had enough time to free my crew, lock up your son, turn the ship back around, and tie you up." She glanced out the window, and sure enough it was dark now. She must have passed out. "I thought you might be hungry, so I also took the liberty to have dinner brought. Won't you join me?"

He indicated the table and for the first time, she noticed two place settings and a covered tray, the smell of spiced fish rising from under the cloth. Two goblets were set out as well, with a dark liquid visible inside them. She could only assume wine. Unsurprisingly, there was a bottle of rum on the table as well.

"Why would you think I would have dinner with you? And besides, how could I, with this magic sack over my hands?" she asked, holding up her bound arms. She studied his face, genuinely curious as to his answer.

"The way I see it, love," he said, "you have a few options. 1. You agree to eat dinner with me, and promise not to try to escape or use magic, and I free your hands. 2. You don't agree to eat dinner with me, and you go back to your magic-proof cell and you don't eat at all. And neither does your boy."

She stared at him. He was holding food over her head, and not just hers, but Henry's as well.

Hook waited for a moment, but when she didn't answer right away, he added, "or there's a third option, I suppose." He paused and grinned for effect, then said, "I could feed you myself." She tried not to growl, but she felt her lips tighten and her eyes narrow at the words. What a jackass this man was.

"You would trust me to keep my word?" she finally asked, playing for time, while considering her options.

"Not really," he said, shrugging. "But even if you did incapacitate me, and get loose, I promise you won't get out of this room. My crew was given very strict orders about how that hatch and that door is to be opened after I came in here and woke you up."

"What did you do? Magic-proof this entire ship?" she said incredulously. He just smiled and waited. She sighed, feeling resigned. "If I eat with you, and promise not to try to escape, you'll take care of Henry? Feed him. Treat him okay?"

"I swear it," he said, placing his hand over his heart.

"Fine," she said. His smile widened and he pulled at a string that held the bag on her hands, and then with a knife cut the rope at her wrists and ankles. He sat down and motioned for her to do the same.

"So, love. Tell me more about this Storybrooke."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Killian was helping to fix the rigging when a shout met his ears. Looking around, he saw that the crew of the Royal Navy ship was continuing on for the most part, those who were coherent anyway. His alter ego had done a number of things of these men, some of whom were still unconscious. David, now carrying Neal, Snow, Henry, and Captain Norrington, however, all looked up at the cry.

Looking over the railing into the town that he used to know so well, he saw two figures running toward the ship. As they came closer to the ship, one looked very familiar.

Norrington went down the gangplank to join the couple on the pier. Robin Hood was breathing heavily and the woman he was with looked angry. So Robin hadn't been kidnapped with the others. Killian looked at the others in his party, and he saw that Snow and David were staring at the man who so resembled their dead friend. The woman with Robin was discussing something with the captain, and the way she was gesturing, Killian could only guess that she was demanding answers.

Killian walked over to Snow and David, "Looks like Robin wasn't kidnapped after all," he said.

"I guess not," David said still watching the captain attempting to calm the woman.

"But who's the woman with him?" Snow wondered aloud. "Maybe they know something about what happened to Emma and Regina. Robin was supposedly part of their party after all."

Killian nodded, and he led the group down on to the pier to meet the others. When the woman noticed them, she stopped mid-sentence and stared for a few seconds. Then she forcefully pushed the captain out of the way and seized Henry.

"Henry! Oh my god!" she said shrilly. Her voice sounded familiar, but the way she had exclaimed at seeing Henry, Killian wasn't sure if he knew it or not. Henry stood there awkwardly, arms at his side, not sure what to do.

She released him, but continued to hold him at arm's length. "Umm… sorry, but do I know you?" Henry asked, sounding as confused as Killian felt.

"What?" the woman said, sounding more calm but surprised. And then Killian realized why the voice sounded familiar.

Snow apparently recognized it too, "Regina? Is that you?"

"Of course it's… oh damn," Regina said, and then she waved a hand over her face, turning back into the woman they all knew. "Sorry, I forgot." The captain was staring at her, mouth open.

"Mom!" Henry cried in joy, and he hugged his mother again.

"Oh it's so good to see you!" Snow said, hugging the other woman when Henry released her. "We were so worried."

"So you must all be from this Storybrooke, I take it?" Robin asked. Snow nodded, releasing Regina, and glancing from him to Regina and back and giving Regina a meaningful look.

David quickly walked over to Norrington and muttered, "please don't mention this to anyone, Captain. We appreciate your discretion."

"But isn't that…" the captain started, staring at Regina.

"Discretion, Captain," Snow said, looking at him. Noticing the captain's face, Regina waved her hand in front of her own again, changing back into the unrecognizable woman.

"We found it easier to travel, when people weren't scared of me," Regina shrugged. Then she was looking at them all each in turn. "How the hell did you all get here?" she asked.

"Never mind that," Killian said impatiently. He didn't feel much relief that Regina was safe, Emma was still kidnapped and with his old self. "Where's Emma?"

"She went to see you," Regina explained sounding frustrated, and motioning to him. "We'd heard that you had the Sorcerer's Wand and she thought she could get it from you." Killian could feel hatred rising for this other man.

"You let her go alone?" David asked incredulously.

"Begging your pardon, Charming, but I didn't _let_ her do anything. She's kind of a stubborn woman, in case you hadn't noticed. She thought she could control him, and it would be easier if she could seduce him. At least, I assume that was her thought process, judging by her actions," Regina said, sounding annoyed.

"She was trying to do seduce him?!" Killian burst out, feeling enraged. Suddenly he remembered feeling this same jealousy the last time Emma had flirted with a different version of himself. He wanted to punch this one out too.

"But aren't you him?" the captain asked sounding thoroughly confused. Killian ignored him and stared at Regina who was raising her eyebrows at Killian.

"Yes, pirate. She was trying to seduce him," Regina said, patiently. Out of the corner of his eye, Killian noticed Henry and David looking extremely uncomfortable at the turn in this conversation. Maybe Regina noticed too, because she went on, "I'm not really sure what happened. The innkeeper offered the three of us, Robin, Prince Henry, and I, a bottle of wine. We each had a glass, and the next thing I know, Robin and I are both waking up in locked rooms in the inn, and Emma and Prince Henry were gone. I managed to get some of the truth out of the innkeeper," she added with a dark, but pleased, look on her face. Snow gave Regina a look, and Regina shrugged, "She'll be fine." Captain Norrington shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, well, we've heard that the Jolly Roger sailed off with at least Emma late last night." Snow explained. "It wasn't clear if the rest of you were with her or not, since no one seemed to know where you'd gone."

"Wait, do you guys have a way to get back home?" Regina asked them all. Neal started crying and David tried to shush him, bobbing him up and down. "And come to think of it, how did you break the curse? And why on earth, did you bring the kid?" she asked, gesturing to Neal.

In response, Killian reached into his inside pocket, pulled the wand out and handed it to her. "You got Gold to give you the wand and Zelena to use it? How?" she asked, pocketing the wand.

"A few things have happened since you left," Henry said conspiratorially.

"And we were just trying to fix the ship so we could take off after them when you arrived. Lucky you woke up when you did. We might've left without you," Snow said.

"Fix the ship?" Robin asked. It was odd talking to a man that he knew to be dead. Vaguely, Killian wondered how Regina was handling that one.

"Sabotage," the captain chimed in, sounding as though he was happy to be able to be part of the conversation, and not liking that he didn't understand the rest. "The crew of the Jolly Roger must have known we'd try to go after the princess once we'd learned of the kidnapping, and wanted to stop us as long as they could."

"Well I can fix that," Regina said starting to raise a hand.

"Not here, Regina!" Snow said grabbing her arm to stop her. "At least wait until we're on board."

Regina growled but acquiesced. Norrington was still glancing from face to face as though trying to figure out what was going on. When Regina had raised her hand, he had watched it like a viper that was ready to strike. He was still watching it when he said, "well, why don't we all get on board then?"

The group agreed and they all followed him back on board. Regina walked to the far side of the ship where she couldn't be seen from the dock and she waved a hand. Ropes sprang into life and pieces of the rigging were suddenly back where they belonged. Some of the crew who hadn't regained consciousness began to stir as well. The ones who were already awake stared as their ship seemed to come alive. Norrington did his best to reassure them that everything was fine.

"Captain, do you mind if we use your cabin to talk?" Snow asked Norrington politely. Killian was ready to scream at all the pleasantries that some of his companions were showing. It was taking too long.

The captain nodded and led them all to his cabin where they grouped inside. He looked at them all carefully, realized that he wasn't wanted and bowed his way out saying, "Now, that everything seems to be in order," he glanced uncertainly at Regina and went on, "we will make our way south at once." He closed the door behind him.

"Regina," Snow began at once, "what happened here? We only heard bits from the blue fairy and Rumpelstiltskin. He said that he'd given you a bean, and you'd used it. But your still here, what went wrong?"

Killian saw Regina glance surreptitiously at Robin, who said, "I think that would be my fault, you Majesty." They all looked at him. "I might have been attempting to rob them at the time."

"You did what?" David said loudly.

Robin shrugged, "A thief has to make a living." Then he looked at them all, his face a mixture of curiosity and surprise, as though a thought had just occurred to him. "I was a thief in your reality, wasn't I? I take it the rest of you all know me as well?"

Regina grinned very slightly at him and nodded, but the members of Killian's party were watching him.

"Yes, we knew you," Snow said carefully. "Just how much did Regina and Emma tell you about our world."

"Everything," Robin said cheerfully. "At least, almost everything, I think."

"Never mind all that," Killian said waving his good hand at them all. Shouts from outside the cabin, and movement under their feet told Killian that Norrington had been true to his word. They were already setting off. He continued to the group, "How do we find Emma, and then how do we find our bloody way back to Storybrooke."

"Well," David said, turning to face him. "It's your alter ego that took her. What would you have done?"

"I already told you, mate, I would have gone south and planned to hold her for ransom."

"And would you have done anything else to her?" David asked quietly. His tone was mild, but his eyes were ablaze.

Hook knew what the man was asking, and it made him snarl in his throat. He narrowed his eyes at David. This man really did think the worst of him, didn't he? He may have been a pirate, but he wasn't a monster. He always held on to honor. Becoming a pirate hadn't changed that. "I wouldn't have harmed her, _mate_. Not in any serious way."

David was staring daggers back at Hook, distrustfully. The ring in his pocket suddenly felt very heavy. He probably shouldn't have brought it.

"Can we put away the rulers, please?" Regina said sounding annoyed. Hook broke eye contact with David and looked at Regina who was glancing from him to David. _Bloody prince thinks he's so much better than me._ Then Hook glanced at Snow who was looking at her husband, clearly annoyed. Killian let the anger go.

"So, if you were looking for the sorcerer's wand, you must have had a plan to use it?" Henry said to Regina, changing the conversation pointedly.

"Truthfully, that was Emma's idea. I wasn't sure what she had intended to do with it if we'd found it, since I can't use it. Maybe she'd hoped that she could now that she's experienced a little darkness herself," Regina said thoughtfully. "Doing anything to find a way home was better than doing nothing," she added more to herself.

"Well, now that we have the one from Storybrooke, maybe she can use it," Killian said hopefully.

"We have to find her first," Robin said. "They must have taken the prince too, we couldn't find him back at the inn when we awoke. Now I've heard that the Jolly Roger is the fastest ship in the realms," Robin looked meaningfully at Killian and continued, "is that true, or just rumor propagated by it's captain?"

"It's true," Killian said. _Mostly_. "It's unlikely that this ship will be able to catch up to her."

"I think it's time I help with that," Regina said. She walked over to the window in the cabin and glanced out. The port town of Liamsburg was shrinking away behind them. "I had warned Emma to be cautious when we sped up the ship before. We didn't want to get noticed, but I think the time for subtly has passed."

She put up both hands facing the sky through the window, back behind the ship. Hook could see clouds suddenly roiling above them. The sails were suddenly filled and he could hear the wind as it suddenly pressed into the wall of the cabin. Through the window he could see more than one of the sailors get pushed around, and even knocked over by the sudden explosion of wind. He smiled, he would find Emma soon enough.

It was completely dark when the captain came in to let them know that they were traveling faster than he'd ever seen. He subtly asked if Regina had anything to do with it, but she simply smiled at him. He looked uncomfortable knowing this and he left quickly. Neal had fallen asleep on Henry's lap, who had also fallen asleep while sitting against the wall. Snow and Robin appeared to be dozing as well, sitting at the small table in the room.

No one had said anything for quite some time, and Killian was thinking about walking around the deck to clear his head. He was still feeling irked from David's questions. After everything they'd been through, how could David still question his honor that way? Even as a pirate, he would have never done something like what he was suggesting. He'd always liked women who could compete with him. Strong, fierce, and independent. Like Milah. Like Emma. David did give Killian his blessing to propose to Emma, albeit grudgingly, so he must understand he was like that now at least.

Killian got up and started for the door. He could feel David and Regina's eyes on his back, but he ignored them. The cabin door opened silently, but a burst of wind slapped him in the face when he stepped out. Regina was keeping them moving quickly.

There were few crewmembers on deck, but more than he would have expected. Maybe because the captain knew why they were moving so fast and he was compensating for it? Ignoring the wind, Killian wandered to the railing and looked out, leaning on the hard wood. Glancing down at the water, he could guess how fast they were going, and Regina had been right. The ship was going faster than the Jolly Roger would have been able to unaided. They might even catch up by morning or afternoon tomorrow.

He wondered how his other self was treating Emma. He wouldn't have hurt her, not really. It's possible he might have been a little rough with her in order to make her come along with him. Probably just to get her into the brig. But nothing she wouldn't be able to handle. But then, Emma had magic, so how could he have been holding her against her will? Is it possible that she went with him willingly?

 _No_.

There was no way Emma would have left Regina behind. And why take the Prince if that was the case? That didn't make any sense at all, so Killian dismissed the idea. The only thing that made sense was she truly had been kidnapped. But again, how could this Captain Hook have held her against her will when she had magic? Could he have drugged her? It's possible, but even the wine that had prevented Regina and Robin from following only lasted most of a day. She would have awoken by now and broken out.

Maybe that's exactly what happened and she was on her way back to Liamsburg? Maybe she was already there and looking for Regina? That thought made his stomach drop. What if they'd completely missed her? What if –

BOOM

The ship rocked and Killian was grateful he'd been holding on to the railing the way he had, otherwise, he might've gone flying. Shaking his head clear, he looked around. The few crewmembers on the deck were mostly on the ground, and trying to stand back up. Only a couple had managed to stay upright, mostly those who'd been holding on to something like he had.

Looking towards the bow, Killian could see another ship coming into view out of the darkness. It looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't be sure. A blast of light burst from the other ship, and their ship rocked again. The others from his party came spilling out of the cabin at the same time that the captain of the ship came up from below shouting orders and demanding to know what was going on.

"Pirates, Captain!" one sailor said loudly.

Glancing upward, at the other ship, as it came more into view, Killian could see the skull and crossbones of the pirate flag. This wasn't the Jolly Roger, but he was familiar with the ship. He swore.

"Return fire!" Hook shouted at the men, his captain's instincts taking over.

Captain Norrington looked at him angrily, but then shouted, "Do it! Return fire!"

Norrington ran over to Hook just as Regina, and the others did so too. "Hook, what's going on?" David asked quickly. Hook felt water splash along the deck, and he grabbed the railing again to steady himself. Neal was crying again in Henry's arms.

"It's the bloody Black Pearl," Hook said through gritted teeth. Of all things that could be delaying him from finding Emma, it had to be _him_. _At least it isn't the Crocodile,_ he through wryly.

"The Black Pearl?" Snow said sounding incredulous.

"Henry, take Neal back inside the cabin!" David shouted at his grandson. Henry jumped and held the boy to his chest, then carefully went back to the cabin, trying not to fall over while the ship was rocking.

"The Black Pearl," Regina said thoughtfully. "Why do I know that name?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean, Regina. It's one of Emma's favorite movies," Snow said, grabbing David's arm as another cannonball hit the water around them. Regina stared at Snow for a moment, and vaguely Killian wondered why he didn't know this about Emma. Not that he'd ever been particularly interested in movies back in Storybrooke, he found the whole idea ridiculous, especially after Emma had tried to make him watch a movie called "Peter Pan" that got everything wrong…

The other ship was running parallel to them now, and Killian could vaguely make out people on the other ship. Norrington was ordering return fire again, and the sound of cannon blasts around him was deafening to the ears. It had been a while since he'd had to hear that sound.

Regina growled and a ball of fire appeared in her hand. She threw the fireball at the other ship, but suddenly there was a shining white light emanating from the other ship, and Killian saw no more.

Killian awoke to the sound of grumbling around him, but he couldn't distinguish the voices. He blinked several times trying to clear his vision, and he slowly sat up from where he'd been lying on the floor. Looking around himself he saw that he and the members of his party had been crowded into a small cell in what appeared to be the brig of Norrington's ship. Across from him, he could see most of the crew in a similar cell.

Sparrow was peering into the cell at him, looking confused. When he saw that Killian was awake, he said, "Explain to me, how it is that I'm locking you into a cell for the second time today?"

Killian blinked again, not understanding the question. Most of the others were already awake, Regina was still unconscious on the floor, lying next to Henry, who was standing over her protectively. Robin was sitting next to her too, looking worried.

"Where is my son?" David yelled at Sparrow. It sounded like it wasn't the first time that the question had been asked. Sparrow's eyes shifted to David and he tilted his head at him consideringly.

"Please," Snow chimed in, almost pleadingly. "Why have you separated us from our son? He's still just a baby, he should be with his parents." Hook thought, not for the first time, that Neal should have been left at home with the dwarfs.

"Answer them," Killian growled, still rubbing his head. What the hell had the man done to them?

Sparrow's gaze fell on him again, and Killian stood up to face him. Strangely, he realized, his hook had been removed. Studying Sparrow, he realized that it was hanging from his belt. Seeing that Killian noticed this, Sparrow grinned at him. "I assure you, darling," Sparrow said, addressing Snow. "No harm will come to the boy. He's with some of me most trusted crew right now."

"Pirates," David muttered so quietly that Killian wasn't sure anyone else heard.

Sparrow went on, looking back at Killian, "now, please explain to me, why it is that this is the second time today that I've captured you, Hook. And that lad as well?" he added nodding toward Henry. Regina was finally starting to stir and Henry and Robin were helping her sit up.

" _I_ am the Captain of this ship!" came a voice from the other cell. Looking around Sparrow, Killian saw Norrington staring at him. "You will address your demands to me!" Sparrow spun around, the beads in his hair clicking together, his hand floating in the air. The man made his movements seem both graceful and drunk.

"And _I_ am in the process of seizing your cargo and bringing it over to me ship," Sparrow said back, sounding like he shouldn't have had to explain this. "I have no demands, I'm already taking what I want. Right now, I'm just wondering whether I should keep your ship and strand your crew somewhere, or if I should give it back with an oath from you that you won't follow me." Norrington growled something about not negotiating with pirates, causing Sparrow to laugh. "Yet, you have a pirate captain on your ship," Sparrow said pointing back toward Killian.

"Wait a minute," Henry said, stepping forward. Sparrow spun back around, hands and hair flying. "Did you say that you've already taken Hook and me captive once today?"

"Aye," Sparrow said considering Henry. "The last I saw of you, you and a lovely blonde had control of the Jolly Roger and were sailing back from the way it'd come. So, how the blazes did you beat me here? Despite rumors, offered by her captain, no doubt, the Jolly Roger cannot outrun the Pearl."

"You've seen Emma!" Killian said walking up to the bars excitedly. Sparrow cocked his head at him again, looking confused, or maybe he was just trying to focus on him. So Emma had taken over the Jolly Roger and was on her way back to Liamsburg, no doubt to find Regina. She might even be close if they'd sailed quickly enough. But then, where was his other self?

"Emma Swan?" came a woman's voice. Sparrow didn't move, and within seconds, a woman came into view, holding Neal.

"Neal!" Snow and David shouted at the same time. "Is he okay?" Snow asked at the same time that David said, "Give us back our son!"

"Neal, huh?" the woman asked bobbing him up and down and cooing. She didn't take her eyes off the boy when she said, "He's a sweetheart, this one. Jack, he does belong with his parents." Finally she tore her eyes from Neal's to look at Sparrow.

"You know Emma?" Killian asked the woman urgently.

She looked at him and blinked, surprised. "How can you be here, Captain?" She studied the others in the cell with him and blinked at Henry too.

"Never mind that, love," Killian said, trying not to sound too impatient. "What happened with Emma? Is she okay?" The woman studied Killian, looking thoroughly confused.

"Enough of this!" Regina growled from behind them. A puff of smoke appeared around Sparrow and he disappeared from outside the cell and reappeared inside it. He looked around, startled. Within seconds, he was surrounded by everyone in the cell, Regina being the most threatening with a ball of flame in her hand. "Move and you'll be flame-broiled. David, the keys."

Grinning, David quickly grabbed the keys at Sparrow's belt and Killian took the opportunity to take back his hook. He reattached it with a sigh. Sparrow didn't look worried, just slightly surprised. The woman on the other side of the bars was watching with a curious expression on her face.

"Stay where you are," Snow told her, sounding half threatening, half reassuring, "and don't cry out." David unlocked the cell, took his son, and the other's filed out behind them. Snow prodded the woman into the cell behind Sparrow and closed the door behind her.

David handed the keys to Snow and she proceeded to open the other cells letting out Norrington and his crew. "Finally," Norrington said with a pleased expression, watching Sparrow, "Jack Sparrow will hang like he deserves."

" _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, if you please," Sparrow said, motioning with a finger, and sneering at Norrington.

Norrington ignored him and said to his crew, "Men, take back the ship!" The men shouted and jeered as they all ran forward, each trying to get to the ladder first.

"Now," Regina said with an evil grin, "let's see what this pirate knows..."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hook smiled as he cut into his spiced fish. Emma had grudgingly sat down opposite him. The red coat she wore hid the top half of her figure in an annoying manner. He'd watched as she'd sat, however, and the trousers she wore were tight across her backside, her curves obvious. He could get used to seeing women in outfits like this more often.

"Aren't you warm, love? Why don't you take off your coat?" he suggested as she stared at him. Her eyes narrowed and she said nothing. He shrugged nonchalantly, and he lifted his fork to his mouth. He ate his food in silence for a few minutes, before he put his fork down, looking at Emma, who hadn't touched her food or said a word. "It's not poisoned, I promise. I have no intention of harming you. You may as well eat."

Emma sighed and picked up her fork. She started to cut into her fish, when she stopped and looked at Hook, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why? The money, of course."

"Not the kidnapping, dumbass, the dinner. The show of making me eat with you, being kind to me. What's in it for you?" she asked harshly. _Dumbass?_ _What the bloody hell kind of word is that?_ Hook thought to himself as he considered her question. Why was he doing this?

"The pleasure of your company. Although, love, I must admit, you were much more pleasant company last night," Hook smiled at her. She scowled.

"Yea, well, last night, you hadn't kidnapped me."

"I am confused about that," Hook said. "Why would you walk willingly onto the deck of a known pirate ship and think nothing would happen?" _Killian_. The name she'd called him rang in his head again. Maybe it was time for some answers. "You never did answer my question."

"What question?" she asked, looking genuinely confused.

"How you know me. In this other world, I mean. You know more about me and my ship than I had even guessed last night. That much is clear. Sparrow got his hat back, which means you know about my vault. My crew doesn't even know about that, so I can only conclude that this man, this other me, told you about it. He must be quite a different man than I am," Hook grinned at her, pleased to see a trapped look appear in her eyes. She didn't want to tell him.

"Why do you care?"

"Call it curiosity," Hook shrugged. It was more than curiosity, and he knew it. She didn't say anything, eyeing him suspiciously. "Were we…" he hesitated, adding tension to the question and raising an eyebrow, " _involved_?"

Emma scoffed, but he noticed that she didn't meet his eyes. So that was it, as he'd suspected. "I'd like to go back to my cell now," Emma said, changing the subject. Hook blinked in surprise. She hadn't eaten a bite. If they had been involved, they were either still lovers, or it ended badly, and either way, she clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"The deal was, love, that if you don't eat with me, neither does your boy," Hook reminded her.

"And you're eating," she shot back, nodding to the forkful of fish he was holding. "Are you going to force me to actually eat this?"

"Do you not like it? I can have something else brought. Stew perhaps? Or maybe you'd just like to drink?" He put his fork down and picked up the wine glass in front of his plate, lifting it to toast her. She narrowed her eyes at him as he took a drink. Finally, she sighed, finished cutting into her fish and took a bite, following it with a sip of the wine. He noticed that she made a surprised face that indicated the wine was better than she was expecting. He hadn't brought out the best he had, but close to it. When trying to make a woman happy, it was always better to surprise them with nice things; something he'd learned over his long life. That is, of course, assuming that the woman was your typical lass. This one, however, was far from typical. But the wine seemed to work, nonetheless.

They ate in silence for a while and when the food was gone, they drank their wine, Emma pointedly avoiding looking at him, leaving him free to stare at her. Not that he would have gone to any lengths to hide the fact. When her wine was mostly gone, she looked at him again.

"So, now what? Am I just to go back to my cell?"

"Unless you'd prefer to stay in my company, love," Hook said, smirking at her. She scowled at him and said that she would much prefer to be back in her cell. He shrugged and got up from the table. "No tricks now," he smiled at her and she narrowed her eyes. He climbed up the ladder, and knocked in a set pattern and opened the hatch. He popped his head out and shouted to his crew the predetermined code. They all nodded and resumed their duties.

He climbed all the way out, and breathed in the sea air. While they were making good time, they weren't in any particular rush. No ship from Liamsburg would have been able to catch up to them at this point, and he was enjoying the woman's company. She followed him out of the cabin and stood next to him.

"You know," she said quietly, looking out over the sea and walking over to lean against the railing. "You could be better than this."

Hook turned and stared at the woman. She looked completely at her ease and unconcerned about the fact that she was technically a prisoner. "I beg your pardon, love?"

"The man I know, he's a good man. He would have helped me, not kidnapped me. You have that potential to be a good man. To help people, not take advantage of them. You could be a hero," she said, looking at him seriously.

He met her eyes for a few seconds and then began to laugh. Is that what he was like in her world? _A Hero!_ What could have happened to him in this other world that would make him turn into a hero, that would make this woman believe in him so much? Hook suspected that if he met this man, this other him, he wouldn't recognize him. Emma was scowling at him as he laughed. Slowly he let the laughter die and said, "you're not serious?" He frowned at her when she didn't answer. "You're saying that this 'other me' is a hero? I've never heard something so ridiculous. I'm a pirate, love, always will be."

"I never said you stopped being a pirate," she muttered.

He laughed again, "How could one be both a hero and a pirate?"

She shrugged and looked back out over the water again, "You – he – made it work."

"Maybe he was just playing a role that he thought you wanted to see," Hook suggested.

"Even you aren't that good of an actor," she scoffed. "And this you, the pirate I'm currently talking to, you would not have died for anyone. The man I know died to save everyone."

"I'm dead?" he burst out, surprised. He'd been sure that they must have been involved given the way she was acting, and her reluctance to explain their relationship. But now she was saying that this other him was dead. Could she still be in love with him, despite him being dead? _In love with him?_ he thought suddenly. When did he determine that this woman was in love with him? Was that possible? Gods, he hated complications, and this woman was nothing but.

He was still staring at her when she didn't answer him, but a small smile was playing on her lips, like she knew something he didn't. After a few minutes of silence, he realized he was letting her do what she wanted, and he shook himself out of his reverie and took her by the arm. "Come, love, it's time for you to go back into the brig."

She said nothing, but allowed him to steer her back below deck. When they passed the cell that the Prince was still locked into, she stopped.

"You said you'd feed him," she said, turning to face Hook.

"Mom!" he said running to the bars when he saw her. "Are you okay? I tried to fight back, but they overpowered me. I'm sorry, I've failed you." He hung his head in shame.

"It's okay, Henry," she said. "no one could have defeated an entire ship of pirates by themselves. Not even your father." _Baelfire._ He'd forgotten about what Emma had told him the night before about the Prince's father. Emma's eyes had flicked to him, he noticed. She'd said that for his benefit too. To remind him who the Prince was.

Hook looked carefully into Emma's face and said, "I'll be sure to have food brought to the boy immediately." He nodded to a crewmen standing nearby, and the man rushed off to the galley to get food for the Prince. Hook turned back and studied the Prince for a moment before pushing Emma forward again, feeling uncomfortable.

The Prince called after them, "Wait! Mother!" but they kept going.

If that boy was Baelfire's son, that made him Milah's grandson. In a way, that makes Hook his step-grandfather… almost. Not really. Sort of. His head was spinning again. He thought about it; he knew how much Baelfire meant to Milah. How much he'd meant to Hook. Neither Milah nor Baefire would have wanted the boy a prisoner on the Jolly Roger. They'd be disappointed in him. They'd both seen the good in him too. And Baelfire probably wouldn't approve of Hook locking up his former lover either. Husband? Were Baelfire and the Princess married? He didn't know. It struck him as unlikely that the Queen and King would have approved of their daughter having a child without marrying the father.

On the other hand, had there been a royal wedding, it would have been a large event. Surely, he would have heard about it. Even living in Neverland, he'd heard about the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming. Royal weddings were always big news, so unless they'd kept it quiet for some reason, they probably weren't married. Which would also explain why the birth of the Prince wasn't a large event either. The biggest news he'd ever heard about the Prince was when he was made a full knight which was only recently. Most people didn't even realize that there was a Prince in the castle until then.

Still lost in thought, he opened the cell door and Emma went in without complaint. She looked around and seemed surprised that it had more comforts than before, including a small hammock for a bed instead of a pallet, blankets, a pillow, and a few books. She turned to him and asked why all the luxuries for a prisoner.

"Even a kidnapped royal should be treated well, love," he said, still working through the confusing thoughts that this woman inspired in him.

"Then why doesn't the Prince have these same comforts?" she said, sounding annoyed. His eyes focused and he looked at her. She was right, he was treating her like a guest, while leaving her son in a cell without much at all. Why? Why was he giving her these things? He didn't treat royals this way, that was ridiculous and he knew it. But he'd talked himself into a corner.

"I'll be sure to see that he gets the same treatment that you do," he said, smiling at her.

"You do that," she shot back, sitting on the padded chair that he'd provided for her. Seemingly at random, she picked up one of the books and began to read, effectively shutting him out. He felt a stab of annoyance at this, but ignored it. He turned and walked back up to the top deck just as the moon was beginning to rise. Much of his crew were beginning to wind down their tasks for the evening and were preparing to get their own meager dinners before bunking down for the night.

Hook walked over to the same rail as before and leaned out watching the moon rising into the sky. Smee walked over to join him.

"Captain" he said, mimicking his stance leaning against the rail and watching the sun, "If you don't mind my asking, is everything alright?"

"Aye, Smee," Hook found himself saying, not really paying attention to the other man, "Everything's fine."

"It's just that…" he hesitated. "You've been behaving a bit… differently since we've taken the Princess and her son. Not even counting the brief capture of the ship." Hook growled slightly in his throat at the reminder and Smee plowed on, "We've never been ordered to treat a prisoner so before, and you've never insisted on dining with a prisoner before either, and there's just some talk among the crew about the reasoning behind it. They… we… want to make sure that nothing is wrong. You seem different… distracted."

Hook blinked slowly and turned to look at the little man. He wore his usual red knitted cap and looked nervous. He'd always appreciated Smee's candor in the past, but now it got him thinking. 'You seem different,' he'd said… Was he different? It had been only been one day since they'd taken on Emma and the crew was already noticing a change in him? _Is_ that _what happened to my other self?_ he wondered suddenly. That bloody woman had gotten into his head. Made him change. _Not me,_ he thought fiercely, _not this time._

And yet, what was he going to do about it at this point. He'd already given the orders in regard to the Princess and her son. He couldn't very well take them back, then he would seem even more off. No, he had to keep the orders as they stood, and make it seem as though it was all on purpose.

"Rest assured, Mr. Smee," he said, trying to keep his voice even, but giving it enough edge to sound just slightly angry, "I am perfectly fine, and I would appreciate it if the crew kept their worries about me to themselves. I'm not one usually given to flights of fancy; I know what I am doing and the crew had best remember exactly who I am. If I hear that any of the crew is questioning me again, I'll have them thrown overboard to join the sharks. Is that clear?"

Smee stood up straight, looking anxious. "Yes, Captain. My apologies, Captain. We were just worried about you."

"Well, don't be," Hook said, standing up straight too and turning to face the little man. From the corner of his eye, he could see other members of the crew watching cautiously, but trying to look like they were still doing their tasks. "If I hear another word on this, it'll be the plank for anyone and everyone who brings it up," his voice was rising with every word and he quickly found that he was shouting. "Everyone on my ship knows their jobs, and everyone on this ship had better be doing their jobs to 110 percent or else. Is that clear?"

"AYE CAPTAIN," Smee said quickly and loudly.

"Is that clear to the rest of you bilge rats?" Hook yelled turning to the rest of the crew still on deck.

"AYE CAPTAIN!" they called in unison and they all scurried to continue their chores.

"Now, Mr. Smee," Hook said lowering his voice, but keeping the angry edge to it and turning back to his first mate. "I want it understood that everything I do, I do for a reason, and no one is to question my orders on my ship. Now I'm going back to my cabin for the night, and you had better not disturb me for any reason. In the meantime, everything that has been put into the Princess' cell, I want to be put into the Prince's cell as well. He should have the same comforts that she does. See to it personally, Smee, or I will be very cross. Do you understand me?"

"Aye Captain," Smee said, still standing straight and looking nervous. "I'll see to it personally, Captain."

"Good, now goodnight, Mr. Smee."

"Goodnight, sir."

Hook turned on his heel and went to his cabin, still feeling annoyed with his crew for questioning his orders. But in the back of his mind, he knew that they had a point. He was changing the way he did things because this woman was getting into his head.

As he climbed down into his cabin, he saw that the dishes from his meal with Emma had already been removed. It was close on midnight now, and he wasn't feeling particularly tired. Annoyed, yes. Confused, very much so. But tired? Not even a bit. He sat at his table and pulled out his flask. He began to take sips from it as he thought about what Smee had said. He had been acting differently since Emma had come on board.

Why was this woman getting under his skin in this way? He began to take bigger sips that were turning into gulps as he attempted to figure out what was going on with him.

After almost an hour of wondering and drinking he came to one simple conclusion: he needed to get this woman off of his ship. He decided that in the morning he would order more speed so they could get to the royal port faster and they could collect their ransom and be done with it.

He laid down with this thought and was soon drifting in an uncomfortable sleep. His dreams were troublesome. A man that looked like him, but was somehow taller and more regal laughed as he stole Hook's hook. Emma wandered into the dream and began to compare them, making it very clear how much better the other man was. The other man laughed again and began to kiss her.

Hook sat up suddenly, grateful that he was no longer dreaming but wondering what had woken him up. He couldn't immediately place the issue, but soon realized what was wrong. His ship was no longer moving.

He heard yelling from above and knew something was very off. Had they been captured again? He must have gotten a few hours' sleep at least, because a pale light was shining through the windows. He threw on his coat, and climbed the ladder emerging into the morning air.

He quickly took in what he was seeing, though he had to blink several times to be sure. Sailors from the Royal Navy had boarded his ship and already overcome most of his crew. A small group of people, who had also boarded his vessel, noticed his arrival, and a few of them looked both surprised, and yet, unsurprised. And seeing one of them, he realized why.

The supposedly dead King David and Queen Snow (and a baby?), both looking significantly younger than they should have were staring at him. The young Prince was also watching him, though he was dressed differently than he'd last seen him. A man and woman he didn't recognize were with them as well. But the last member of their party was the biggest shock of all.

He was staring into his own face. His doppelgänger was staring daggers back at him. The other man regained his composure much faster than the others and quickly ran up to him. Before Hook could do anything, he'd been punched in the face. He fell backwards, and stars popped into his vision. He got a vague feeling of déjà vu, but wasn't sure why.

"Hook!" one of the women called. Hook wasn't sure if she was calling him or the other man, but he quickly regained his feet. The other man reached for the keys at Hook's belt, and Hook grabbed his wrist before he got them. The other man had a hook identical to his own.

"Give it up, mate," the other man said, glaring at him. "We're taking her back, and you've lost your ship."

The King walked up to Hook and raised a sword to his throat, "Release his wrist, and give him your keys." Hook let go of the other man's wrist, who without waiting took the keys for himself.

"I'm not letting this man out of my sight," his double said. "We'll take him with us down to the brig."

"Hook, are you sure that's a good idea?" asked the man Hook didn't recognize. Hook looked at the man confused, before he realized he had been talking to the second Hook.

"Aye, we can't trust him to anyone other than me. Not on this ship," the other Hook said. _Bloody hell._

"He's your twin," said the King in a note of agreement.

"It's remarkable," said the Queen staring from one Hook to the other. She was bobbing a baby up and down while seeming to compare the two men.

"Yea, bloody brilliant. Can we go find Emma, please?" the other Hook asked impatiently. He then motioned for Hook to lead the way. The King slightly poked Hook in the neck, indicating he should start forward, and he began walking. "Regina, love," he continued, "would you mind taking the other me's hook?"

 _Regina!_ The woman he didn't know smiled evilly and waved a hand. Purple smoke formed around his left wrist and the next thing he knew, she was holding his hook gleefully.

"Your Majesty," he said to her, still walking forward with the King's sword at his throat. "You've changed quite a bit. The Princess told me as much, but didn't say you've changed your looks too."

"Shut up, _pirate_ ," she shot back. She sounded the same at least.

"How did you get the Prince out of his cell?" Hook asked genuinely curious, risking a glance at the boy and earning a pinch in his neck as a result.

"We didn't," the Prince said, smiling at him. They didn't? What did that mean? They must have got him out somehow, but if they could get him out, why wouldn't they have been able to get Emma out too? His doppelganger descended the ladders to the first set of holds first, and then he was instructed to follow. When he was down and looked around, he saw that the Prince was, in fact, still in his cell.

"What the…" the Prince said when he saw the two Hooks.

"Don't worry, lad, we'll get you out of there," the second Hook told him, not taking his eyes off of Hook. The King followed Hook down, followed by the Queen and her baby.

"Grandfather! Grandmother! You're alive!" he cried out. But then his face fell staring at them. The other Prince had followed his grandparents down the ladder. So now, there were two Hook's and two Prince's. "What is going on here?" he asked suddenly suspicious.

"Hi," the free Henry said. He took the keys from the other Hook and unlocked the cell letting the Prince out. He held out a hand to the Prince, "I'm Henry Mills. You must be Prince Henry."

"So weird," Queen Snow muttered.

"So, you're all from the other world, I take it?" Hook asked the group at large. Most of them stared at him.

"Emma told you?" the other Hook finally asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Aye," he said, unsure what else to say.

"So, you're not _my_ grandparents then?" the Prince asked the King and Queen, his face falling slightly.

"Afraid not, kid… uh, Prince Henry," King David said somewhat awkwardly.

"Can we get a move on and find Emma, please?" the other Hook said impatiently. He nodded to King David and they all started to move toward the next ladder which would lead down to the hold where Emma was being kept. They proceeded in the same fashion as before, only with Prince Henry now in their party as well.

The other Hook went down first, and as Hook went down the ladder, he heard an annoyed Emma say, "What do you want now? Breakfast?"

Hook finished descending the ladder and turned in time to see the other Hook staring at the woman, love clearly in his eyes as he said in a breathy voice that Hook sincerely hoped he'd never have, "Emma."

Emma stared from one Hook to the other, her eyes briefly meeting Hook's before snapping back to the other one. Her own eyes widened and she ran forward to the bars, "Killian?"

The other Hook – Killian – rushed to unlock the cell and when the door was flung wide, Emma shot through it and into Killian's arms. They embraced passionately and Hook noticed that both Henry's were wincing slightly, and Regina looked slightly ill at the sight. Queen Snow and the unknown man who was still with the party, however, were both smiling. King David had a look on his face that was nearly impossible to read, but if Hook had to venture a guess, he thought he would have called it a combination of resignation, anger, and relief.

Hook, for himself, felt a little sick at the sight too, but he feared what exactly the feeling making him sick might be.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Killian!" Emma sighed into his shoulder, still holding on to him, "you found me!" He smiled at her and she grinned back at him, seeing the love in his eyes that she'd gotten accustomed to. Pulling away from him, she looked around at the others that had joined him. Hook was watching the two of them with an unreadable expression on his face, but he looked torn. What was that about? Why was he even with them? She pushed these questions to the back of her mind and she then seized Henry, who she could tell was _her_ Henry based on the clothes he was wearing and the relieved look on his face. Turning again, she looked at her smiling parents and hugged them both and then hugging her little brother, she said, "You brought the baby?!"

Snow shrugged and said, "the family that adventures together, right?" Emma found herself laughing. She hugged Regina, and then even Robin, relieved to see they were both okay as well.

"What happened?" Emma asked them all. "How did you all get here?"

"Long story, love," Killian said. She looked back at him and he slipped an arm around her, smiling. "The point is that we found you, and now we can go home."

"Speaking of which, we have something for you," David said. He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out the Sorcerer's Wand.

"Is that how you got here?"

"Yes, and now maybe we can use it to get home?" Snow asked, looking inquiringly at Emma. "We heard you were looking for it on this side too, do you think you can use it?"

"Hold on, first things first," Emma said. She regretfully stepped out of Killian's reach and turned to face Captain Hook, who looked like he had hoped they'd all forgotten about him. At the look on her face, his eyes widened.

"Now hold on, love, I treated you and your son well…"

She punched him in the face and he fell over into the bars of her cell, unconscious. He slumped down on to the floor as they all watched, and Emma knelt down to look him in the face. "We need to lock him up, but we can't lock him up on his own ship, I'm pretty sure that he can escape no matter where we stash him on this ship," Emma said. She turned to Killian, who nodded in confirmation. She continued, "How did you all get here? Do you have another ship we could lock him up on?"

David smiled, and with Robin's help lifted Hook off the floor and they dragged him up to the top deck. Emma looked around and realized that the men controlling the ship were familiar to her. This was the crew from the Royal Navy ship under Captain Norrington. _Norrington!_ She realized, finally recognizing the name from _Pirates of the Caribbean_. She shook her head at this realization. Seeing the man, he smiled at her and came over bowing formally again.

"Your Majesty," he said. "It's good to see you safe again."

"Thank you Captain, for helping my family find me," she responded inclining her head to him, the Princess in her taking over briefly. Killian raised an eyebrow at her formality, and grinned slightly, but didn't say anything. Looking around her, she saw that most of her family was grinning at her, and the sun was shining as though it too were happy they were back together. David and Robin nodded to each other and hefted Captain Hook over to the other ship, where Emma could only assume they were going to store him in the brig.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief, happy that this "adventure" was almost over. It was time to return home. She was leaning against the railing, her arm behind Killian's back, and his holding on to her tightly. She noticed that Captain Norrington was looking from Henry to Prince Henry, with wide eyes, clearly confused. He was occasionally eyeing Killian with the same look on his face. Emma was astonished that he still wasn't asking any questions.

Henry and Prince Henry were talking amiably, and laughing. Emma thought she overheard Henry telling a story about Neal, and she smiled. After a few minutes, Robin and David returned to the Jolly Roger declaring Captain Hook officially under arrest. Killian smiled at this. Emma thought it was odd that he could be happy that a version of himself was just arrested.

"He wasn't pleased that he put him in a cell with Sparrow though," Robin said, chuckling.

"Sparrow!" Emma exclaimed, moving over to them.

"Oh my gosh, Emma," Snow said, her eyes shining. "You won't believe who we met…"

"She must have met him too," David pointed out. "Remember?"

"Oh yea," Snow said, her smile falling a little.

"You guys have Jack Sparrow?" Emma said, looking at each of them in turn.

"He tried to attack our ship," David explained. "He didn't exactly count on Regina, though… Most Royal Navy ships don't come equipped with a witch." Regina grinned in satisfaction.

Emma's eyes twinkled, and she grinned, "That reminds me…" she smacked Killian on the arm several times.

"Ow! Ow! Swan, what are you doing?!" Killian cried, trying to get away from her.

"How come you never told me you knew Jack Sparrow?!" Emma said loudly. The others around them started laughing as Emma continued to smack Killian on the arm, while Killian attempted to ward her off.

"How was I supposed to know that you knew who he was?" Killian asked, sounding defensive. Emma eyed him, laughed gleefully, and then hugged him tightly.

"Remind me to make you watch _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Then maybe you'll see why I like pirates…" Emma said, kissing him.

"Especially pirates who wear guyliner…" Regina muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"He did look a little like Johnny Depp though, didn't he?" Snow asked. All of the Storybrooke residents laughed except Killian who looked even more confused.

"I think it's time we went home," Killian said to the group at large, starting to scowl as the rest of them continued to laugh. Robin and Prince Henry looked just as confused as Killian. They slowly all stopped laughing and grew more serious. Finally, David pulled out the Sorcerer's Wand again and handed it to Emma.

"Do you think you can make it work?" he asked.

"I hope so, if I can't, and Regina can't, then we're back at square one," Emma said, taking the wand.

"Square 2," Snow said, cheerfully. Emma looked at her confused and she continued, "At least this time we're together." Emma felt herself smiling at her mother, and she felt hope rising in her chest.

She took a few steps away from the group, and gripped the wand tightly. A light breeze ruffled her hair, and she could feel the eyes of everyone, including most of Norrington's crew on her. She focused her magic, and felt the now familiar spark rising in her chest. She reminded herself that in order to use the Sorcerer's Wand, you had to be able to use both light magic and dark magic and she thought back to when she was the Dark One. An image of Rumple formed in her mind, and she forced herself to remember how it felt to use the dark magic that came with being the Dark One. A different feeling formed in her chest, rising alongside the spark of light magic she was accustomed to. This one felt more like fire, burning in her chest. She closed her eyes and focused on the two sensations, doing her best to ignore the eyes boring into her back. They were all counting on her. She had to be able to use both.

Slowly, she raised the wand, forcing the two feelings of power down her arm and into the wand. She waved the wand, desperately imagining a door that would lead them home. She felt a rush course through her and she opened her eyes, excitedly.

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

She waved the wand again, hopefully, but still nothing happened. She closed her eyes in defeat. She didn't have the darkness in her anymore. She couldn't use the wand. She sighed and turned back to the others, who all had varying looks of disappointment on their faces. "I can't make it work," she said, unnecessarily. "Regina, do you want to try?" she asked hopefully, holding out the wand to her friend.

Regina took a breath, looking doubtful, but she nodded and took the wand. Emma stepped back into the group and Regina stood where Emma had been. She waved the wand too, and as most of them expected, nothing happened.

Now what?

Regina sighed and handed the wand back to David who looked disappointed. Snow and Henry were the only ones who didn't look completely defeated. She always had hope. Emma noticed that both Prince Henry and Robin, however, looked like they were trying to hide the fact that they were pleased about the situation. _They don't want us to leave!_ Emma realized. Robin caught her eye and she realized that she was still supposed to be finding a way to bring him with them. She hadn't given it much thought since their original conversation on the ship so many days ago. How long ago had that been? Only 2 days? That couldn't be right.

"Anyone else have any ideas," Killian asked.

"I have one, but I'm not sure how realistic it is," Emma said hesitantly. They all looked at her. "Captain Hook…" she started. David and Killian both hardened their faces and suddenly were wearing matching scowls. Emma blinked at them both, realizing how creepy it was when they both reacted the same way. She did her best to ignore it and she went on, "he mentioned that a genie recently resurfaced in Agrabbah."

"Aladdin?" Snow asked surprised. Emma nodded. "But how is that possible? They should have returned to the other realm in our timeline of events… right?" Snow turned to Regina in confusion, hoping she could explain. Regina, however, looked just as surprised and confused as the others.

"Maybe if we can find Aladdin, we can wish ourselves back home," Emma suggested.

"That's a dangerous suggestion Emma," Regina said. "Wishes always come with a price." Emma raised her eyebrows at her. "However, I can't think of any other ideas."

"What about Rumpelstiltskin?" Snow asked.

"What about him?" Emma asked nervously.

"We might've… sort of… made a deal with him," David said awkwardly.

"You didn't!" Emma and Regina said at the same time.

"He wanted to know about Neal – Baelfire in this world. He said he would work on getting us another bean if you could tell him what happened to him," David explained. Emma suddenly felt Killian's eyes on her and her heart sank. Neal. As she had earlier suspected, her memories of being Princess Emma were fading and her memories of Neal from this reality were no exception. Everyone was looking at her.

Prince Henry was watching her carefully, and looking like he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he spoke up anyway, "Why would Rumpelstiltskin want to know about my father?" He addressed the question to Emma, but she suspected that he was asking everyone. Henry's eyebrows climbed up his forehead staring at his other self in surprise. Everyone else glanced at him awkwardly, except Robin who seemed genuinely curious. She'd never told him who Neal was in this reality. Come to think of it, she wasn't entirely sure that Princess Emma even knew the truth of his background. From what she could remember, she hadn't actually known 'Sir' Neal for very long.

He'd joined the Royal Army when she was 17 years old and they'd quickly become friends. He never seemed to say much about himself, but he could always make her laugh. She found that, within only a few months, she was madly in love with him. At the time, another kingdom was threatening the peace that her parents had worked so hard for and the army was preparing to march. Neal and Emma were afraid that they wouldn't see each other again, so they'd decided to be together for one night before he left. He never came back, having died in the battle, trying to save several of his fellow soldiers from the invading army. He was declared a hero and given a funeral befitting one. A couple months later, she'd realized she was pregnant and had to admit to her parents what she'd done. After she'd given birth to Henry, she declared to her parents that Neal's portrait was to be displayed in the castle in his honor. King David didn't like it, but Queen Snow had convinced him that it would be good for both Emma and newborn Henry. He wasn't coming back and it was all they would have of him. Emma explained all this to the others, while reminding herself and Prince Henry of his father's story.

Prince Henry knew all of this, of course, but as to _who_ Neal actually was, he couldn't have known.

"Henry," Emma said carefully, looking at the young man she knew so well, and yet was so different from her real son. "Your father, Sir Neal, was Rumpelstiltskin's son, Baelfire." Several of the others in the group looked away uncomfortably. Robin's mouth fell open and Henry just looked awkward.

"Your telling me that the Dark One is my grandfather?" Prince Henry asked in shock. Emma nodded, knowing how hard this information would be for him to process. He stared at her, until finally he lowered his eyes, unsure what to say.

"So, _that's_ what happened to my son?" came a high pitched voice from behind Emma. She spun around and found herself facing Rumpelstiltskin, just as he'd looked when she was seeing him in her head when she was the Dark One. Emma stood up straighter, but narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Yes, that's what happened to your son here," Emma said. Rumpelstiltskin's face fell, he actually looked sad. "I'm sorry," Emma found herself saying. "If it helps, he was a good man, and in our reality, he forgave you." Rumpelstiltskin was staring at her, hanging on every word.

David, sounding defensive and suspicious, suddenly said loudly, "There, she told you what happened to your son. Did you find us a bean, as you'd agreed?" Rumple narrowed his eyes at David, but then giggled maniacally.

"Why, of course I did, dearie!" he said, sounding as though he were trying to regain his composure. David held out his hand expectantly, but Rumple just giggled again. "I don't have it with me!"

"You said, you'd get us a bean to go home!" David said angrily, starting to draw his sword.

"Dad! No!" Emma said, grabbing his wrist and stopping him from doing something foolish. Rumple growled and waved his fingers, forcing David's sword back in its sheath.

"Listen to the Princess, dearie," he said warningly.

"We made a deal!" David spat.

"We did," Rumple agreed, "I said I would find you a way home, and I did. I never said that I would bring it to you." He giggled again.

"You son of a…" David shouted, but Snow grabbed his arm, preventing him from lunging at the Dark One.

"Relax, dearie. This should be an easy mission for the likes of this group," Rumple said. They were all watching him warily. "There is a man, in the very next ship, who happens to have a magic bean. Make the right deal with him, and I imagine that the bean can be yours!"

"Who?" Killian growled, slightly afraid of the answer.

"Why, Captain Jack Sparrow, of course," Rumple giggled. And with that, the Dark One vanished in a puff of smoke.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 _I really hate that imp_ , David thought angrily. The smoke from where Rumpelstiltskin had disappeared from was still dissipating when he turned to the others. Now they had another pirate to deal with; on top of two different Captain Hooks! Why is it always pirates that they had to work with? He looked at Emma who had her arm behind Hook's back again—Killian's back. If there were going to be two Hooks in his life, even temporarily, he should probably work out how to refer to them so they could all differentiate who they were talking about. He'd have to start changing how he thought about Killian as well, especially with an engagement looming, albeit unknowingly, above his daughter's head. Killian had his arm around Emma too; he looked like he was not planning to ever let her out of his sight again.

Wasn't it David's job to protect Emma? To keep her safe? She was his daughter after all. But then, David reminded himself, Emma was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and it appeared that if anyone, besides Emma herself, was going to assume the role of the Savior's Protector, it didn't look like that was going to fall on David anymore. Killian had taken over that role, and was likely going to defend that position as long as Emma and he lived. David hated everything about it, but maybe it was time to get over it. He'd given Killian his permission - no - blessing to marry his daughter, and that was that. Internally, David groaned.

"So, I guess we need to go talk to Jack Sparrow?" Snow said finally when no one spoke. _Oh yeah, this was going to suck._

They all agreed and started to head over to the other ship when suddenly Emma stopped. She broke apart from Killian, who looked regretful, and she turned to face Prince Henry. The boy was different from his grandson. Noble. Proud. _Royal_ , David realized. This was a boy who had been trained since birth to be a knight and to one day take over as King. He'd had King David to help raise him. Privately, David wondered if King David had been a better grandfather than he'd been, especially since he had been able to help raise this Henry. Prince Henry might not have the same family that Henry had, but he also had his mother and grandparents to help take care of him since the day he was born; something his Henry never had. The regret that David usually felt in regard to abandoning Emma to their world suddenly hit him hard, as that regret was passed on to Henry's upbringing too. At least he'd known Snow—Mary Margaret—growing up. That was something. But then again… Prince Henry no longer had his grandparents. And Emma was going to leave him too.

"Henry," Emma said facing the young prince.

"Mom," Prince Henry said back.

"Henry," she repeated, "I think it's time for you to return home. To the castle."

"What?" he asked, sounding confused and a bit hurt. "I promised I'd help you. I swore. I can't leave you now. Not before we know for sure that this Jack Sparrow even has a way for you to return home."

"It's time, Henry," Emma said calmly. "I've found my family, and we're on our way home. The kingdom needs you to lead it. You knew this was coming. It's time for you to become King."

"King!" Prince Henry exclaimed, as though the thought had never occurred to him. "I'm not ready to become King. I…" but he trailed off at the look Emma gave him.

"You'd be a better king now than I could have ever been a queen. I was never royalty, Henry. You were raised for this. We can't let the peace and prosperity in the kingdom fall. I love and trust the others, but they still need a leader. They need you," she explained. 'I was never royalty,' the words echoed in David's head, ricocheting like shrapnel against the inside of his skull. She really didn't think she was royalty. No matter who her parents were, she would never consider herself a princess. More regret smacked him in the face.

"And what am I supposed to say to the dwarfs and the others? How am I supposed to explain to them why I've returned home without you?" Prince Henry asked.

"You knew this was coming, Henry," Emma repeated. "We've discussed this. You tell them that I abdicated the throne, that I didn't think myself capable of being Queen without my parents and left the throne to you. You say that I've left the Kingdom to find my own way and a new life."

"You could always tell them that she eloped with a handsome pirate," Killian suggested with a grin on his face, and an eyebrow raised suggestively. David narrowed his eyes at the man. If he couldn't control anything else about this whole situation, he would at least make sure that his daughter didn't elope! As though she could sense his thoughts, Snow came over and put an arm around him to try to calm him. It worked only a little.

Emma smiled at Killian, but there was a glint in her eye that David knew meant she was not going to say what Killian wanted to hear. He was not disappointed. "Good idea, Killian. Prince Henry could tell the court that I ran off with Jack Sparrow!" Killian growled in his throat and Emma's eyes twinkled as she laughed. Snow and David both laughed too. Prince Henry looked disgusted. "Seriously, though," Emma said, turning back to the Prince. "You'll be a good King. I have complete faith in you."

Prince Henry sighed and nodded his head, looking sad. "I'll speak to Captain Norrington," he said. "Once you've made your deal with Sparrow, I'll have him take me back to the castle." Emma hugged him and seemed to be fighting back tears when she broke away from him. Of course, she didn't cry. She almost never cried. The Prince stood straighter and watched as they all went over to the Royal Navy ship to go speak with Sparrow. Looking back, David saw him watching them all sadly, before he turned and went to speak with the Captain. He was a strong kid. He was young, but with the dwarfs, Blue, and the others to help him, he'd be a good King, just as Emma said.

Once again aboard the Royal Navy ship, they made their way down to the brig to talk to Sparrow, who was sitting lazily in one corner, while Hook was stiffly sitting in another. They were determinedly not looking at each other. When they appeared, Hook stood up, staring at Emma; a bruise was already forming around his left eye where Emma had punched him.

"Swan," he said, sounding unsure what to say.

Emma ignored him. Killian on the other hand stared daggers at his duplicate as though daring him to address her again. Turning to Sparrow, Emma said, "We need your help, Captain."

"Emma?" came a voice from the next cell. Turning David saw the woman Elizabeth staring at Emma. Her husband, Will, was watching them too. The rest of Sparrow's crew were in the remaining cells, but didn't say anything. David was never a big movie person, but from what Snow told him about _Pirates of the Caribbean_ , Will and Elizabeth were the other main characters in the movies with Sparrow. Emma looked over too and smiled at the two of them before turning back to Sparrow.

"So, there _are_ two Captain Hooks," Sparrow said, slowly standing up. "That explains quite a lot, darling. I was beginning to think I was going mad." Emma raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, mad _der_ ," he conceded. "And what help could I possible provide from in here?"

"We understand that you have a magic bean in your possession," Emma said, immediately getting to the point. David watched Sparrow closely, for a reaction. But none came, except for a slight raising at the corning of his mouth.

"I might have one, love, not here of course. But tell me, why would you need such an item?"

"We're trying to get home," she said simply.

"I'll make you a deal," he said, as expected. "If you let me and me crew out of this brig, bring us back to me ship, and help me with one little chore, I'll give you the bean in me possession. And if you recall, I let you out of your cell, when we first met. Gave you control of the Jolly Roger too. You might say you even owe me, darling." Killian and Hook both made matching growling noises at Sparrow's words. Emma looked from one to the other in surprise, but choose not to say anything to either. David suspected they were not reacting to the same thing, but decided to keep his mouth shut too.

"Maybe I do owe you one," Emma agreed. "But what's this 'chore' that you mentioned?"

Sparrow smiled but didn't answer her question, instead saying, "I promise you it's nothing _too_ dangerous, but well worth it. Agree to help me out, and we have a deal. The bean is yours."

"No deal, Captain," David said through gritted teeth. He was not about to make any deals _with anyone_ without knowing all the terms up front. Emma looked at him, almost accusingly, but he wasn't about to back down. This was his family too and he was going to keep them safe if no one else would. Besides, they still had Neal with them. And Henry. He was not about to put either one of them at more risk than they were already in by just being here.

"Then no bean," Sparrow said, grinning. But then he looked at Emma and said, "But if you agree, love, I'll take your word for it. You were true to your word last time, and I'll believe you this time if you agree. I suspect that _this man_ ," he nodded to David as he said it, "doesn't have any real say over what you will and will not do."

Emma eyed David again, and then Sparrow. Then, strangely, she looked over to Will and Elizabeth who were still watching, but before she could say anything, Hook spoke up, "You can't believe a word he says, love." Emma's head turned so fast, David thought he heard her neck crack. "You can't trust him."

"I agree, Emma," Killian said, though it looked like the words were going to kill him. "Sparrow is not a man you can take at his word."

"Actually, you can," Sparrow said. "I'm usually telling the truth, yet people rarely seem to believe me. They think me a liar for some strange reason." He grinned at Emma, his fingers floating up to his beard, as though he was puzzling over this. Emma grinned back at him, and strangely, so did Regina, Snow, and Henry. Did they know something about Sparrow that the others didn't? When they got back, David would have to sit down and watch _Pirates of the Caribbean_ , he decided.

Once again, Emma turned to Elizabeth and Will, "Do you know what this 'chore' is?" she asked them. They both shook their heads. "Should I make this deal?" Why was she asking their opinion? It's not like she knew them, not really. They were pirates too; none of them could be trusted.

"Ms. Swan," Will said formally, "I know Jack can be…" he hesitated, eyeing his Captain, "mischievous. But he's a good man, I don't think he'd purposefully put you or your family in harm's way. I think you can trust him."

"Most of the time," Elizabeth added.

Emma nodded as though expecting this answer. David took her arm, though, turning her to face him, "Emma, please don't do this. We don't know these people, no matter what you think you know from that _movie_. We can find another way home."

"What's a 'movie?' '' Will asked curiously. Everyone ignored him, but David distinctly heard Henry chuckling behind him.

Emma pulled her arm out of his grasp as said, "It's time to go home, Dad. And this is the fastest and most certain way we have to do it. I've been here long enough. I want to go home." David felt his resolve melt and he nodded. Emma turned back to Sparrow who was eyeing Emma and David.

"Dad?" he asked, legitimately sounding confused looking back and forth between the two of them.

"You have a deal, Captain," Emma said finally. David saw Killian close his eyes, as though steeling himself for the worst. Emma held her hand out through the bars to Sparrow, who raised his own gracefully, his fingers moving strangely, before he grasped hers and they shook. As they let go of each other's hands, however, Hook's hook suddenly crooked Emma arm and he pulled himself forward, pushing Sparrow out of the way with his body.

"Reconsider this, love," he sounded desperate. Why did he care? Emma was clearly wondering the same thing. "You can't trust him. I know that I've hurt you and made mistakes, but listen to me now. Don't let him out."

Emma narrowed her eyes at him, then pulled her arm free of his hook. "Right now, I trust him a lot more than I trust you," she said harshly and he winced. She looked back at Sparrow, "Let me talk to Norrington, and then we can get you out of these cells. Where's your ship?"

"We left it back where they attacked us," Snow said. "We didn't have the crew to man two ships, and we needed speed to find you anyway."

"Then we head back to find the Pearl," Emma said to everyone. "Once we've found the Pearl, Norrington can take this ship back to port. Your crew can have the Pearl, and we'll take the Jolly Roger and follow you to wherever you need us to go for this 'chore' of yours." Sparrow nodded and Emma turned to go back up to the top deck.

Norrington was less than thrilled at the idea of releasing Sparrow, and even less so about giving him his ship back. However, both Emma and Snow insisted fervently, and as they were his Queen and Princess, he didn't really have a choice. David choose not to help them convince the Captain of what they were doing, since he didn't exactly support the idea either, but he knew better than to try to change Emma's (or Snow's) mind. He was surprised, however, to find that Killian agreed with David and vehemently refused to help Emma and Snow make their pitch to Norrington. The two of them stood off to the side while Norrington attempted to dissuade Emma and Snow of their course of action. Regina, Robin, and Henry hung back as well, though David couldn't tell how they felt about this plan. Prince Henry had gone to his room on the ship, and hadn't been seen since they'd left him to talk to Sparrow. David suspected he was trying to hide from the others the fact that he was upset that Emma was leaving.

"Henry," David asked quietly. His grandson turned to him curiously and he went on, speaking too quietly to get Emma or Snow's attention, "What do you know about this Jack Sparrow?"

"Only what's in the movies," Henry said shrugging. "And who knows how accurate those were…"

"He's not in your book?" David asked, surprised. Henry shook his head and David turned to Killian instead. "What do you know about him?"

"He's a drunken fool," Killian said immediately, not bothering to lower his voice. Emma's voice stopped speaking for a minute and she looked at them, but then she turned back to Norrington, going on with their conversation. Killian scowled and lowered his voice to David, "I'll admit, mate, he has a way of getting under my skin. He does things that make absolutely no bloody sense, and often seemingly without thinking, and yet things seem to always go in his favor. He collects magical items to help steal whatever he wants, and he has an uncanny ability to find magical items almost accidentally. I'm ashamed to admit that he's bested me more than once."

"You make it sound like he's more lucky than anything else… but is… is he a bad man?" David asked urgently.

Killian sighed, "He's a pirate, mate. But he has a code he follows, which makes him better than some other pirates out there. But I certainly wouldn't trust him. And a word of advice, whatever you do, do not trust him alone with a woman."

"Can we trust him to keep his word?" Robin asked curiously.

"I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt," Henry said. They all looked at him and he continued, "Aren't we all about second chances in this family? I mean, look who's in this conversation… a pirate, a thief, and the formerly Evil Queen."

"Point taken," Regina said simply. "David, I think we should follow Emma's lead on this. It's not like she's going to change her mind anyway – she's too stubborn. And with all of us keeping an eye on him, I'm not sure how much damage he can do."

Begrudgingly, David and Killian agreed and their conversation lapsed as they waited for Emma, Snow, and Norrington to finish talking. After a few more minutes, Norrington bowed to the two woman and handed Emma the keys to the cell on his ship. Snow inclined her head back, and Emma immediately started off toward the brig again. The rest of the group followed her back down and when Emma approached the cell door with the key, she held up a threatening hand toward Hook who was watching Emma intently. He backed up to the wall, hand and hook raised in surrender, and Emma unlocked the cell.

"We've got a deal, Sparrow. Norrington has agreed to let you, Will, and Elizabeth out of your cells now so we can head back to the Pearl," Emma said. "However, the rest of your crew will have to stay down here until we get back to your ship. Agreed?"

Sparrow half smiled at Emma, his eyes still half closed, which appeared to be normal for him. "Agreed," he said. He stood up again, and Emma stepped back from the cell door, allowing him room to pass her.

"However," she said harshly, putting a hand on his chest to stop him before he passed. He turned to look at her, beads in his hair clicking. "You will be watched 24/7, and if you do _anything_ that I don't like, or it looks at all like you've lied to us or tried to trick us, you will be arrested and back in a cell faster than you can say 'why is the rum gone.' Understood?"

Regina and Snow both smiled appreciatively. Sparrow blinked at Emma in surprise and said, "wait, is the rum really gone?" Emma huffed and rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips were tilted up, as though she were trying to keep from laughing. She followed Sparrow out of the cell, watching Hook closely for any mischief. He was watching her just as carefully, but didn't move. Emma then went over to the cell that Will and Elizabeth were in and she let them both out too.

"Thank you, Emma," Elizabeth said. "We really appreciate this. And you can trust Jack…" she eyed him then, as though rethinking her words. "probably." She shrugged as though that was the best she could offer. Elizabeth walked over to Jack it appeared that she was quietly threatening him to behave himself. Will shook Emma's hand thanking her as well, but then he took her arm and pulled her to the side, speaking quietly so Elizabeth and Jack couldn't hear. David was listening intently however, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Do you mind if Elizabeth had somewhere to lie down? In her… condition… I'm just worried about her getting overly excited or stressed," he said urgently.

Emma rolled her eyes and said, "You'd be surprised how much a pregnant woman can take, Will." She walked away from him then and took Killian's arm and they proceeded back up to the top deck.

"Swan, wait!" Hook called after her. They all ignored him.

Norrington's crew was already vacating the Jolly Roger and it was mostly empty as the Storybrooke folks re-boarded it. Hook's crew was still in the brig below however. They would have to turn them over to Norrington before they parted companies. Norrington was still onboard and he bowed to them as they approached. He eyed Sparrow, Will, and Elizabeth doubtfully, but said nothing about it. He turned to the Charming's and said, "We will return to our previous position with all haste in order to return _these folks_ to the Black Pearl. I would like to request again that you let me leave some of my crew on board here to protect you."

"We are perfectly capable of looking after ourselves, Captain," Emma said, as though it was not the first time she's made this argument. She gave the few members of his crew that remained a curious look. They were all bowing to them as they left, and suddenly David realized why she was refusing him. She hated having them treat her like royalty. She wanted these people away from her so she could be herself again. Why couldn't she understand that she _was_ royalty and she both had and deserved their respect? The regret that David so often felt in regard to Emma hit him again. Would he ever be able to forgive himself for what they did to her?

Unlikely.

Norrington was the last of the Royal Navy crew to leave, bowing to them formally once again. When he was off their ship, and the plank was retracted, separating the two ships, Emma and Killian turned as one and walked to the Helm, hand in hand.

"Curious," Sparrow said, watching them. "Am I to understand that Princess Emma of the Enchanted Kingdom was successfully courted by Captain Hook?" David and Snow both looked at each other, but didn't say anything.

In short order, both ships had turned and were headed back in the direction they'd come. Killian had quickly moved into Captain-of-the-Jolly-Roger mode, giving orders to everyone, not caring who they were. Sparrow, David noticed, was not being assigned any tasks, and Killian was clearly keeping an eye on him, while keeping Emma within arm's reach. Emma didn't seem to notice the behavior of the man, as she moved about the ship as though she were any other member of a pirate ship's crew. Will and Elizabeth were both helping out, chatting easily with the others, and David found himself liking them. They were friendly and polite and soon David was wondering how they ended up high ranking crew members on a pirate ship. They didn't seem to fit the mold. He also noticed that while Killian was keeping Emma within arm's reach, Will was doing the same thing with Elizabeth and was not letting her do many of the complicated or difficult tasks they were assigned. Finally she turned to him yelling that her pregnancy was not a debilitating illness and she could do just as much as everyone else.

It looked like it was an argument they'd had more than once. Sparrow watched them arguing and just chuckled. David was busy with some of the rigging and Emma and Regina were both using magic to speed up the two ships. It took less than 8 hours, but by the time the sun was setting, another ship was visible in the distance. They approached it carefully, it was unlikely that another ship had come across it in just the one day since they'd left it, but one could never be too sure. Norrington had left a few men onboard anyway, just in case. He didn't want to lose such a valuable ship. Emma was lighting a lantern as they approached the vessel, and David could clearly see a few men moving around on board. He heard someone from the Royal Navy ship call a greeting to them, and the agreed upon response was returned from the Black Pearl. He breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing had happened. _Of course, we already have 2 of the worst pirates in the realm with us… how many more are we likely to run into?_

David could've punched himself in the face. He wasn't terribly superstitious, but if he had been, he would have been sure that he'd just jinxed them terribly. At least he hadn't said it out loud…

The men on the Black Pearl followed their orders quickly and without question. They abandoned the ship and shortly afterward, Sparrow, Will, and Elizabeth had climbed on board. Emma, Killian, and David joined them, leaving Snow with Neal, Regina, Henry, and Robin to watch the Jolly Roger. Soon afterward, the rest of Sparrow's crew was escorted on board by Norrington and some of his men. In short order, the crew from the Jolly Roger were transferred over to the Royal Navy ship as well.

Norrington once again bowed to David and Emma, eyeing them as though wanted to argue against this plan once again, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Thank you for all you've done for me and my family, Captain," Emma said to him. "And, also, thank you for escorting my son, the Prince home."

Apparently, Norrington couldn't resist, "You should come with us, Majesty's. I don't understand why the Prince would be returning home without you, or your decision to work with these pirates…"

"Our decision is made, Captain. Keep my son safe. He knows what he has to do when he returns to the castle…" Emma didn't elaborate. Norrington bowed his head in defeat, sighing. There really was no convincing Emma of doing something else once her mind was made up… _Something she gets from her mother_ , David thought.

Norrington and his crew left the Black Pearl, all of them bowing again to Emma and David. Many of them with doubtful looks on their faces. David had to hand it to them, they were a loyal bunch. Norrington barely questioned why there were two Hook's and two Henry's. Had he really been King here, he would have been proud to know they were a part of his Navy.

Emma, Killian, and David turned to Sparrow to finally find out what exactly they'd agreed to when they heard a commotion coming from the Royal Navy ship. David could hear several people yelling, but one voice was rising over the others, "SWAN! YOU HAVE TO TALK TO ME!" It was Hook. David couldn't see much in the rising darkness, but it appeared that somehow Hook had gotten up on deck and was fighting several of the naval officers.

"Oh, for the love of…" Emma groaned.

The plank connecting the two ships was still in place, so Emma, David, and Killian ran over to the other ship to see what was going on. It appeared that somehow, Hook had escaped his cell and gotten ahold of a sword. Norrington was now dueling him one on one, and David had to hand it to the man, he could hold his own. Unfortunately, however, David could already tell that Hook was a better swordsman. He never would have admitted it to Killian (or anyone else), but Hook/Killian was a better swordsman than even he was. Regardless, David pulled out his own sword at the same time that Killian drew his. Between the three of them, they should be able to subdue Hook.

However, Norrington and Hook's duel was fervent and it was hard for either of the other men to approach. Emma looked ready to jump in too, but David suspected that being in such close quarters, with so many people around, and on a ship in the middle of the ocean, she was afraid to use her magic for fear of hurting someone else. Norrington parried a blow by Hook, but briefly lost his balance. Hook took the opportunity to kick one of Norrington's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground. Norrington's sword fell out of his grasp and was promptly kicked away by Hook. He held his sword tip to his throat while David, Killian, Emma and a few other members of Norrington's crew advanced on Hook.

Hook looked pleadingly at Emma.

"Let him go," she said, her hands raised, and threat in her voice.

"Take me with you," he said, almost calmly.

"Not a chance," David spat.

"I don't want to kill this man. You can take me down, you can kill me, but not before I kill him. All I'm asking is to come with you," his eyes never left Emma's as he spoke.

"Why?" Emma asked.

"Because I don't bloody fancy spending the rest of my days in a dungeon," Hook shot back. David narrowed his eyes at that man. That didn't seem right – well, it did, but it wasn't the whole truth, David was sure of that.

"Liar," came Emma's voice. She caught it too. "You have no fear of being arrested here. You believe you'll get out as soon as someone turns their back. And if I know you at all, you probably will, so what's the real reason?" Hook stared at her even harder than before, but he didn't move a muscle; his sword still at Norrington's throat.

"I'll kill him," Hook said again, not answering the question.

"Do it, and I'll make sure that you never escape any cell."

"Emma, love," Killian said, sheathing his sword. "Can I have a word?" Emma turned to Killian in surprise, and for the first time since the end of the duel, Hook looked away from her too, to stare at Killian with narrowed and suspicious eyes.

"Don't let him do anything," Emma breathed to David as her and Killian stepped away from everyone else. David held his sword firmly on Hook. He could hear Killian and Emma arguing nearby, but he couldn't make out what they were saying and he never took his eyes off Hook. For several minutes there was an awkward stillness over everyone on the ship while they waited for Killian and Emma. Hook was watching the two of them intently, and appeared less than concerned at the number of swords currently trained on him.

Finally, Emma and Hook returned to the group, neither one looking particularly pleased. Emma sighed and finally said, "Let him go, Hook. You're coming with us."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Killian watched his doppelganger intensely as they returned to the Black Pearl. Things had gone exactly as he'd predicted once Emma announced that Hook was to join them. Norrington immediately began to protest that his life was not worth the safety of Emma and her family. Hook, on the other hand, immediately breathed a sigh of relief, threw the sword that he'd gotten a hold of at Emma's feet, and raised his arms to her in surrender. Emma, always true to her word, didn't double cross him at this point, which would have been easy enough to do, but instead, picked up the sword, handed it to one of Norrington's crew, and walked over to the Captain and helped him to his feet.

Emma didn't say anything additional to Hook as they escorted him to the other ship, except to say that there was no way he would be joining them on the Jolly Roger – he would be staying in the brig on the Black Pearl instead. Hook started to object, but David avidly pointed out that they never agreed to let him be free if he was to join them. Hook had no counter to this, so he just scowled and nodded.

Sparrow on the other hand, thought the whole thing highly amusing. He gave Hook an entertained look when he was informed that he would be going into his brig down below. Killian was privately amazed that Sparrow hadn't tried to make a run for it when he, Emma, and David had gone over to the other ship, having accidently left him and his crew alone. They'd have to be more careful going forward. Killian figured that Sparrow probably knew better than to try to outrun two magic users, no matter how fast the Black Pearl was. And he must really need their help for this "chore" of his.

Some of Sparrow's crew began to lead him below, when Hook said to Emma, "I'm coming with you to help you, love. How can I help you from the brig and without knowing what the plan is?"

Emma sighed, impatience getting the better of her. She looked between him and Killian, who raised an eyebrow, unsure what she would do, and finally said, "fine, you can stay up here for now. But once we're underway, you go into a cell and stay there until we've arrived wherever it is we're going." Hook agreed easily, but Emma went over to him and cuffed him to a railing, causing him to scowl again. Killian absentmindedly scratched behind his ear with his good hand while he remembered his first adventure with Emma. She did like to cuff him to things, didn't she? He smirked to himself as ideas began to form in his head. He stored them away for later use, still grinning to himself.

"What are you so happy about?" David asked, looking at him. Killian quickly reset his face to a blank expression, but he couldn't help if ideas in his head continued to cause him to smirk slightly.

The Royal Navy crew began to remove the plank joining the two ships, when Emma stopped them. She turned to Killian, "Can you and Dad wait here for a few minutes. There's one more thing I want to take care of, before we leave." Killian looked into her eyes, seeing that whatever this was about, it was important to her. He nodded and kissed her once before she turned and went back to the other ship. Killian and David watched her disappear below deck in silence.

After a few seconds, David turned to Killian and asked what he thought she was doing. "I suspect that she's saying goodbye to Prince Henry," Killian mused. David's eyes widened just slightly as he turned back to look at the other ship. Sparrow had begun issuing orders to his crew, making preparations to sail again, now that the ship was properly manned. Or maybe, just making the ship comfortable for him, personally, to sail again. It appeared that he didn't like some of the things that the Royal Navy men had done in the short time they'd been in charge of his ship.

Ten minutes later, Emma returned to the Black Pearl. Had she been crying? She looked like her normal self, except that her eyes were red. "Everything go alright with the lad?" Killian asked quietly, taking her hand. She just smiled at him, but didn't respond. Finally, she waved to the Royal Navy ship and the plank was removed. Norrington called his best wishes to them as they sailed south, returning the Prince to his home, and his new throne. Alone. _He'll be alright_ , Killian thought, _he was raised a prince, and no matter what reality he's in, he's strong._

Emma turned to Sparrow. "Okay, Jack," she said. "Spill. Where are we going, and what do you need our help with?" Sparrow smiled at her.

"I need to obtain a certain item from a certain location," he said smoothly.

Emma scoffed, "Could you be a little more vague, please?"

"It's recently come to my attention that the Enchanted Forest is limiting my options as far as jobs go."

"'Jobs?'" David said, sarcasm in every syllable. "You mean, your thieving."

"Semantics, mate," Sparrow shrugged, and David rolled his eyes. "So, I've decided to seek something that will help me cross realms."

"But you've already told us that you've got a magic bean," Emma said, sounding accusatory. "Which you agreed to give to us if we help you."

"Aye, I do and I did. But those are limited and can only be used once. What I'm looking for will allow me ship and me to travel between realms freely."

"Don't go to Neverland," both Killian and Hook warned at the same time. Killian blinked and turned to the other man, who was looking at him equally surprised. Emma and David were looking back and forth between the two with matching expressions of astonishment. Sparrow chuckled.

"Well, if you both say I shouldn't…" Sparrow grinned looking at them both and letting the sentence trail off.

"So, what is this 'item' that will so easily allow you to travel between realms. And where is it?" Emma asked. Her impatience with the pirate was beginning to show and Sparrow glanced at her, a look of uneasiness crossing his face. Strangely, he looked from Emma to Elizabeth as though considering them both. _What was that about?_

"Are you sure you aren't related?" Sparrow asked the two women. Both women looked surprised and then looked at each other.

"Pretty sure," Elizabeth said before Emma could answer. "since we're originally from Port Royal, not the Enchanted Forest, it seems unlikely."

 _Port Royal!_ Killian thought in surprise. He knew that port, it was a town from his home realm. What were the odds of that? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Hook had the same look of surprise on his face. Neither said anything. Sparrow was shrugging and then turned back to Emma.

"What I seek is the last feather from a fantastic beast, love. The Pegasus. Rumor says that it can transport an entire vessel between realms," Sparrow explained.

Hook stared. Killian stared. Emma stared. Was he serious? How could he even know about that? There was no way a feather survived. He'd made sure of that. He was not about to let Emma seek out the same thing that had killed Liam.

"Sorry, mate," Killian finally said just as Hook said, "not going to happen, mate." Killian closed his eyes and breathed in deeply begging for patience. He looked at other man who was doing the same thing. Killian narrowed his eyes at him and Hook nodded at him, saying, "you explain."

"There are no more feathers from the Pegasus," Hook said turning back to Sparrow. "I destroyed them myself."

Sparrow tilted his head at him, eyes half closed. He grinned, "I'm aware that the sail containing the majority of the feathers was destroyed. An unfortunate situation."

"Unfortunate!" Hook suddenly yelled. "That sail cost me the life of my brother!"

"So sorry to hear that," Sparrow said, not sounding sorry at all. "But regardless, that is the task at hand. There are stories that one feather survived the inferno you set, and I mean to have it."

"And where do these ' _stories_ ' say the feather is?" Emma asked.

"Why, that would be in the Dark One's vault in his castle."

Objections rose out of Emma, Killian, David, and Hook all at once. It was impossible to hear all of what everyone was saying as they were all trying to speak over everyone else.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"We're not stealing from the _him_!"

"The Crocodile would kill us all!"

"You said this wouldn't be too dangerous!"

Sparrow looked from one angry face to the next, surprise and confusion on his face. He attempted to speak over them as they continued to argue, "With the Dark One locked up, it shouldn't be too difficult a task." They all stared at him.

"Rumpelstiltskin was freed over a week ago," Emma finally said. "Stealing from him now would be suicide." For the first time that Killian could remember, Sparrow looked genuinely alert. He stared at Emma in surprise, one hand subconsciously resting on his sword. Emma went on, "I'm not putting my family into that kind of danger. If you want to steal from the Dark One, you're going to do so on your own. We'll find another way home."

Emma turned to walk away from Sparrow and off his ship, but she stopped when she saw that Robin was coming on board from the Jolly Roger. "Regina sent me to ask what was going on. She was getting impatient, but didn't want to leave Henry and Queen Snow alone, so she sent me to find out. Do we know where we're going yet?"

"We're not," Emma said bluntly. "These idiots are on their own."

She started to push Robin back toward the Jolly Roger when he asked, "Why they change, your Highness?'

"It's Emma," she shot back, sick of this world.

" _He_ wants to steal from the Dark One!" David said incredulously, pointing at Sparrow.

Robin stopped, forcing Emma to stop as well and turned to face Sparrow. "Bold plan, Captain. You're looking for something in his castle, I take it?" Sparrow nodded, and Robin actually smiled. _He smiled!_ Killian thought disbelievingly. The man was clearly out of his mind. "Well, then you're in luck. I happen to be one of the few people to have ever successfully stolen from the Dark One, and his castle. And that was while he was still living there."

"Didn't he catch and torture you as a result?" Emma pointed out. Killian distinctly heard Elizabeth and Will gasp as this question.

"The first time, yes," Robin said nonchalantly, still grinning. That confirmed it in Killian's mind. The thief had taken leave of all his senses.

"First time?" David asked, curiously.

"What most people don't realize is that I stole from him several times after that without getting caught. My first foray into stealing magical items and into that castle taught me much. Made me the best thief around. I should really thank him," Robin mused, tapping his chin with a finger thoughtfully. Everyone stared at him. He couldn't be serious. "If you're serious about stealing from the Dark One, keeping in mind that he is no longer imprisoned, you'll need my help. But I can do it."

Everyone stared at the thief. Finally, Sparrow grinned, clapped his hands together and said, "Well that settles it, I think."

"It most certainly does not!" David shot back. "This is insanity!"

"I agree with Dave," Hook said.

"It's David," David growled at the cuffed man.

Hook shrugged and went on, directing his words at Emma, "Swan, you cannot be considering this. It's too dangerous. I can find you another way home."

"Your concern is touching," Emma said sarcastically. "But I made a deal with Captain Sparrow, and if Robin thinks it's doable, then I'm willing to listen." She turned to Robin, "You really think you can do this?"

"Indeed, Your Maj – sorry – Emma," Robin said. "But I warn against using magic near his Castle. We'll have to sail there instead of traveling by magic, and you and Regina most certainly should not use magic while we're there. Not sure if the Dark One has wards against magic or if he can just sense it, but every time someone has attempted to approach his domain using magic, it's ended badly for that person."

"Emma," Killian said quietly. She turned to him and their eyes met, communicating silently. "If you really think this is the best option, then I will follow your lead, as always, love. But I do wish you would consider this carefully. This Crocodile is not the one you know. He is not the grandfather of your son. He is still an evil, wicked, imp who's never known Belle as his wife, or been forgiven by his son. If he catches you, or any of us, he'll destroy us all. And I, for one, cannot bare to lose another love." He brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder with his hook and caressed her face with his hand. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hook watching them closely. Emma didn't say anything but just continued looking into his eyes. Finally, she reached up and kissed him gently.

Pulling away from him, she said, "I want to go home, Killian. This is the fastest way to do it. So let's get this done and _go home_."

He was still holding her face in his good hand. He could see the urgency in her eyes, "Okay, love. We'll do this." Emma raised her hand to meet his, closing her eyes and leaning into his palm. He could feel the smoothness of her skin under his hand, and he longed to never let her go. But then, he realized, uncomfortably, literally everyone on the Black Pearl, including his other self and her father, was currently watching them. He stepped away from her, letting his hand fall. Her hand fell with his, but didn't let go of it. She turned to face everyone else, still holding his hand.

"Okay, Sparrow, you've got a deal. But if we do this, we do it our way. We limit the people involved in this. You, Me, Killian, Robin, Regina, Mom & Dad. No one else," Emma said. Emma turned to David, "Are you okay leaving Neal with Henry? I don't want either one of them near the Dark One's castle."

"Actually, the lad may come in useful," Robin cut in.

Emma glared at him, "I don't want –"

But Robin went on, "There's one place in the Dark One's castle I've never been able to get in to. The Dark One has been known to use blood magic in the past. It's possible that the boy, if he really is the Dark One's grandson, could get into that area when the rest of us couldn't."

"I could watch the baby," Elizabeth volunteered. "I'm good with kids, and well… maybe I could use the practice." She hesitated, "that is, if you trust me of course."

Emma looked from one face to the next. Robin had a good point and she knew it. Henry might come in handy. And if they did happen to run into the Dark One, he might be the only one able to calm the man down. Emma hated herself as she said, "Okay. Henry comes too. Dad, is it okay with you if Elizabeth and Will watch Neal?"

David eyed the couple, then looked back at Emma. He nodded, "but your mother won't like it. _I_ don't like it." Emma nodded too, expecting nothing less.

"What about me?" Hook suddenly piped up.

"What about you?" Killian asked. Unconsciously, he gripped Emma's hand tighter. She squeezed his hand back and he loosened his grip.

"I thought you agreed to let me come so I could help?" he wasn't looking at Killian, but instead staring at Emma.

"I agreed to bring you along, because it was pointed out to me that you would escape from Norrington anyway, and this way we could keep an eye on you... and…" she hesitated, her voice growing quieter, "that as the good guys, we give people second chances, and if Killian can change… maybe you can too." Her head lowered, not meeting his eyes. Killian squeezed Emma's hand gently, but watched the other man closely.

"Doesn't mean we trust you yet, mate," he said pointedly. Hook looked at him and then back at Emma. Killian thought he saw his eyes softening when he looked at her, but then his eyes met Killian's again and the look he got was fierce. A challenge. He was determined. It was the same look that he himself had given Neal when they talked about Emma back in Neverland. Did he actually think that he had a chance with her? Was he going to make a play for her? _I did_ , he thought, _why wouldn't he? I'm going to need to watch my back. From myself… this is so odd._

"So," Hook said after a minute, "are you going to let me help, or are you going to leave me in the care of _his_ ," he nodded to Sparrow, "crew… who don't particularly like me?"

"We wouldn't let them do anything to you," Elizabeth said. Will nodded. Hook scoffed, clearly disbelieving they had any real say on the ship.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Emma asked.

"You're already involved with me, love, and from what I've seen, you know me pretty well. So tell me, would _he_ let it go?" this time he nodded to Killian. Killian glared, but already knew the answer. And so did Emma.

She rolled her eyes, and sighed, "fine. But I hate this."

"You didn't already?" David asked quietly. Emma grinned slightly at him.

"Then, I guess we sail for the Dark One's castle. Let's go tell the others," she said. She waved her hand, and the cuffs vanished off Hook's wrists. He smiled at her and rubbed them, straightening up now that he wasn't tethered to the rail.

"Thanks, love," he said. "You won't regret this."

"I already do."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Plot a course to the Dark One's castle, and we'll follow. Robin will stay on board and Regina will be joining you shortly, just to make sure you stay on course," Emma told Jack, a hint of a threat in her voice.

He grinned, bowed, and said, "Of course, your Majesty. I'll make sure not to go too fast so that the Jolly Roger can keep up." He stood straight up again and glanced from Killian to Hook to see if he'd managed to elicit a reaction from either. They both just narrowed their eyes at him, but didn't say anything.

Emma and Killian turned as one and went back on board the Jolly Roger where the others were waiting for them. She didn't bother to look back to see if David and Hook were following them. It was completely dark at this point and Emma was using the lanterns lit on the Jolly Roger to guide her path across as she stepped carefully on the narrow plank of wood connecting the two ships.

Once they were all back on the Jolly Roger, Emma explained the situation to Regina, Henry, and Snow, especially when Regina bluntly asked what "Guyliner Number 2" was doing with them. Hook took offense at being considered "number 2," and wondered aloud what "Guyliner" meant. Killian actually laughed at this, though Emma was tempted to remind him that he had once had to be explained what the title meant too.

"He expects us to do _what?_ " Regina practically growled when Emma got around to explaining the deal made with Jack. Naturally, Snow and Regina both launched into objections about why they couldn't possibly proceed with this plan. David, Killian, Hook, and Emma just nodded, already well aware of the situation and what was likely going to happen to them. "Why did you ever agree to that?" Regina finally managed to ask over the over-lapping conversation.

"Robin thinks we can do it," Emma said quietly, eyeing Regina for a reaction. The former queen just blinked and turned her head slightly, but otherwise gave no indication that this meant anything to her. "Regina, we made a deal, and I think between all of us, it might just be doable. And it's time to go home."

Snow sighed and then hugged Emma saying, "You've already made up your mind, huh?" Emma nodded and Snow went on, "well, okay then. I think we should all get some sleep if we're going to steal from the Dark One tomorrow." Regina glared.

"Regina, I told Robin that you and he will stay on board the Black Pearl to keep an eye on Sparrow. I don't think he'll try anything, but you're the only one I really trust to keep him in line in case he does. That being said, Robin did say that we shouldn't try to use magic too much near Rumple's castle. That he could sense magic or had alarms to sense magic or something like that. I think we can use magic to speed up the ships to get there, but once we're close we'll need to avoid magic as much as we can. OK?" Emma looked carefully at her friend, who looked less than pleased at the turn of events, but she nodded.

Regina then turned to Henry, gave him a hug and said, "Since the Black Pearl is filled with pirates, I think you'll be more comfortable here. More space, anyway." Henry nodded and hugged her back. Regina then waved her hand and disappeared in her usual purple smoke, although in the dim light it looked black to Emma's eyes.

"I think Mom's right, we should all try to get some sleep," Emma said addressing the remaining team on the Jolly Roger. "Mom, Dad, there's one other cabin besides Killian's that you and Neal can take, though it might be a bit tight for the three of you. Henry, I'm afraid that you'll have to sleep in one of the hammocks in the crews quarters. Sorry," she added quietly to her son. Far from looking disappointed or upset, Henry just appeared to be excited about going forward with their adventure.

"And where will you and my other self be sleeping, love?" Hook asked raising a suggestive eyebrow. "Because surely, you aren't going to kick a captain out of his own quarters?"

"It's _our_ ship now, _mate_ ," Killian growled. "You sleep in the crews quarters, unless you'd prefer the brig?"

"Killian and I won't be going to bed just yet anyway, we're going to take first watch to keep the ship on course following the Black Pearl. Dad, we'll wake you and Hook for second shift in like four hours. So, I suggest you try to get some sleep while you can," Emma explained. The others nodded, Hook with a glare, but they all turned and went below deck to try to get some sleep.

Henry and Snow both gave Emma quick goodnight hugs before decending, Snow saying as she did so, "it's good to have you back." Emma hugged her mother back and then ruffled Neal's hair as he slept in the baby carrier. When everyone had left them alone on deck, Emma looked over the dark water and could see that the Black Pearl was already under way, and Killian and Emma quickly set about getting the Jolly Roger off to follow her. Emma was pulling on some ropes, loosing the sails, as Killian took the wheel changing the ship's trajectory.

Despite Snow's comment that they would be stealing from the Dark One tomorrow, according to Killian, they would actually have several days of sailing before coming into the Dark One's domain, and until then, it was safe to use magic. Using a small compact mirror that Regina had provided, Emma ran this by the other woman and Regina agreed that they could use magic to increase their speed for at least 2 or 3 days before any alarms or whatever Rumple had would be able to detect them. Both women then used their magic and increased the wind on their respective ship's sails, making them go faster than was normal even for the two fastest ships in all the realms. Emma was completely determined to do this as quickly as possible. She missed her bed.

After they'd taken care of the ship, Emma and Killian stood together near the helm, Emma casting a spell on the wheel to keep it going north-west without having to watch it too closely. Killian wrapped his arms around her from behind as they both looked out over the water. The moon was just a sliver of light in the sky, casting little or no light, but the stars were bright and they enjoyed each other's company in silence. After a few minutes, Killian moved some of Emma's hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck. She tilted her head the other way, and Killian bowed his head, kissing her neck.

"I really missed you," he whispered into her ear. She hummed quietly back in response. "I love you Emma," he said gently, continuing to kiss her neck. Emma could feel the tickle of his short beard against her skin and it gave her goosebumps. She shivered slightly, and he pulled her closer into himself. She spun slowly in his arms, raising her own arms to loop around his neck. His blue eyes bore into her own and she couldn't help but smile at the love that she could clearly see there.

"I love you too," she breathed before pulling him to her and kissing him gently. He kissed her back, and she could feel heat emanating off of him; his desire for her obvious and passionate. Their embrace lasted several minutes as they reacquainted themselves with each other; enjoying the privacy that the night gave them, even if they could do little more than kiss, since they were supposed to be watching the course of the ship and acting as lookouts.

After a few minutes, they broke apart, both knowing that they were neglecting their responsibilities to their ship and family. However, Emma did notice Killian seemed slightly preoccupied, as though he wanted to say something – was dying to say something, in fact – but couldn't bring himself to do it. She didn't say anything, knowing that he would come to her in his own time. She could wait for whatever it was; god knows he waited for her to come around long enough. Though, it struck her as odd, since he wasn't usually one to hold back in regards to her.

It was a cold night and Emma wrapped her jacket tighter around herself as she watched the water flow silently by them. She and Killian had to stop touching each other, as it was becoming more and more difficult to break apart. They would have all the time in the world for that when they got home. After several uneventful hours, Emma went below to wake up David and Hook.

Not wanting to wake her mother or brother, she opened Smee's cabin door as quietly as she could. Her family were all fast asleep on the tiny bed, her father on the outside. She gently shook him awake, raising a finger to her lips when he opened his eyes. He nodded and quietly got up, putting on a jacket and boots.

When they were outside the room, she said she was going to go wake Hook, and they would meet him back above deck in just a minute. He nodded, taking the candle she offered him. "We should've brought flashlights and lanterns," he regretted as he looked at the flickering candle. "Can't you just make one with your magic?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking, and said, "Electricity and magic don't mix well. I could make you an oil lantern, if you would prefer?" He shrugged noncommittally, and headed up the ladder with the candle. Emma chuckled quietly to herself and waved her hand, making an oil lantern for light as she proceeded lower to find Hook.

Descending the ladder further, she found the crews quarters extremely dark and quiet. She quickly found Henry sleeping on a hammock nearby, his hand resting on an open notebook. He was snoring slightly, his mouth open. Emma tried not to laugh, or shine the light from her lantern on him as she passed. The light from her lantern cast eerie shadows on the hull of the ship, making her feel like she was being watched.

She was starting to wonder if Hook was even in here as she approached the back of the ship without spotting him, but then a pair of blue eyes were reflected back at her from the lantern light. He was already awake – or maybe he had never gone to bed.

"Careful where you shine that light, love. You might blind me in this darkness," he said quietly. She rolled her eyes and he went on, "My turn for watch?" She nodded. He hopped off the hammock and lightly landed on his feet close to her. "Thanks for allowing me to get this back, by the way," he added, holding up his arm and displaying his hook. Not saying a word, she started to turn and lead them both back up above deck, but before she could take even a step, Hook had managed to catch her arm in his hook, forcing her to turn around to face him.

He was much too close, and he didn't release her arm. He stared into her eyes, and she said quietly, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to imagine myself in you," he responded without hesitation, taking the lantern from her and putting in on a nearby trunk. Her eyes widened and she tried to take a step back, but he had grabbed her other arm with his good hand and held her fast. Seeing her reaction, he chuckled and added, "Not a euphemism, love. But if that's what you'd like, I'd be happy to accommodate." She growled in her throat, but didn't say anything. He laughed again and went on, "I meant, I'm trying to imagine what you see in me – in this other me… What exactly makes him so different from me that you trust him so completely, but won't give me the time of day?"

She hesitated, halfheartedly trying to free herself from his grasp, but knowing it was no good. "He's a good man," she finally said.

"And I'm not?"

"Not yet," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Optimism. I like it. But what did he do to make you trust him so? You've spent the last several days avoiding talking about your relationship with him, and even went so far as to make me think that he had died. Clever bluff, by the way," he added.

"Wasn't a bluff," she muttered. "He did die."

"Interesting, that must be quite the story. You'll have to tell me about it some time," he smiled. "Regardless, he must have changed to make you trust him so. To love him so. He changed for you?"

She narrowed her eyes, but was starting to feel uncomfortable talking about her relationship with Killian with a man who looked just like him. "He changed for himself. I just happened to be there."

Hook nodded, looking thoughtful. "Love," he said pensively. "It makes us all crazy." She looked at him in surprise, and he finally released her from his hook and grasp. "The others are waiting," and with that, he broke their eye contact, picked up the lantern again, and passed her by, his shoulder gently brushing hers as he did so. She stared as he walked away from her, and when he was several feet away, he turned, saw that she wasn't following and simply said, "Well, Swan? Don't you think we should go up?"

She shook her head to clear it of all the confusing thoughts and she started following him back up above deck. He reminded her so much of the Captain Hook that she had met all those years ago. The pirate and scoundrel who loved to push her buttons, and then say something sincere when she least expected it. Was this version already starting to change for her too? She _needed_ to get home and leave Hook #2 here. And the sooner the better.

She followed him past Henry, who was still snoring, and went up the ladders to the top deck where Killian and David were quietly talking. Actually, Emma thought, as she looked at them through the dim light – _were they arguing_? That wasn't so unusual for the two of them, of course, but there was something different about the way they were holding themselves. As soon as they realized that she and Hook had joined them on deck, however, they stopped arguing and both turned to face them.

"What took you so long?" David asked Emma. "You said you'd only be a minute. Is he a heavy sleeper or something?" he nodded at Hook, who raised an eyebrow and scratched behind his ear with his hook, grinning knowingly.

"Or something," Emma said vaguely.

"Everything alright, love?" Killian asked, looking from Hook to Emma.

"Fine," she said, still feeling foggy from her conversation with Hook. She shook her head again, and took Killian's hand, "C'mon. Let's go to bed. G'nite Dad."

They started to walk toward the Captain's cabin when she heard Hook say from behind her, "Spending the night with a Princess you aren't married to, and flaunting it in front of her father, the King? Bad form, mate." Emma felt Killian's hand clench and he quickly spun around to face his doppelgänger. His eyes were wide with rage and Emma thought that Hook might have just started a duel. David looked angry and astonished too, and stared at Hook. Wearing matching expressions, Killian and David both faced Hook, who seemed to realize that he'd said the wrong thing, or possibly touched on a sore subject. Emma just felt annoyed and stepped between the three men.

"Ok, enough of this. Hook – shut up. Killian and I live together, and I don't need to be married or my father's permission to do that. Welcome to the 21st Century," she said harshly, echoing something that Neal had once said to Killian. She took Killian's hand once again and dragged him away from the other two men. They were going to have a very uncomfortable night.

Just as Emma was beginning to descend the ladder, she heard a distinctive crunch and then a thud. Not bothering to look, she suspected that David might've punched Hook. When she was on the floor, Killian followed her, looking pleased.

"Dad hit him?"

"Aye, love," Killian said, a grin on his face. Reaching up, Killian closed and locked the hatch above them, then closed the door that lead to other areas on the ship from this level. Emma took off her jacket and dropped it on the table. She was still feeling confused and annoyed by Hook's actions and she wasn't feeling very tired. She kicked off her shoes and she looked up to see that Killian was taking off his shoes too, but was watching her intently. When their eyes met, she thought she caught a glint in his eyes, and before she knew what was happening, he had pushed her up against the wall and was kissing her fiercely.

She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back. Suddenly, all thoughts of Hook, or her parents, or stealing from the Dark One, or even getting home were driven from her head as her true love wrapped her in his arms, picked her up, and laid her down on the bed, still kissing her.

David and Hook might be in for an awkward and uncomfortable night, but she and Killian were going to have a really good one.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next two days passed by uneventfully, if uncomfortably for Hook. The Evil Queen would appear randomly twice a day or so to check on the son that she shared with Emma. She ignored him for the most part, but most everyone else seemed to be watching him closely; David in particular. After he'd hit him the first night they were on watch, they hadn't said a word to each other their entire shift. Only Snow White and Henry seemed to be giving him much of a chance. They seemed to be the trusting members of this strange family.

Emma was clearly avoiding him, he realized on the first day, though she did heal his eye with her magic when she saw the bruise. When he came up on deck, she would suddenly be heading down to the Captain's cabin – _his_ cabin. There seemed to be some unspoken agreement among the Storybrooke folks that _he_ was Hook, while his other self was Killian. He wasn't sure if they were doing this simply to differentiate between the two of them, or if there was such a clear difference between the two men that they truly saw them as different people. _He_ wasn't sure that the differences between himself and the other Hook – Killian – were really that extreme. It seemed, to Hook, that Killian had just softened a bit and was less likely to make someone walk the plank. David didn't seem to like Killian that much more than Hook, although he did seem to believe that Killian loved his daughter and as a result trusted him to some small extent.

Hook found that he spent most of those days by himself when he wasn't on watch, during which he was more often than not paired with David or Snow. Killian and Emma seemed to be wrapped up in each other and always took shifts together. Snow and David took it in turns to watch the baby, Neal. And despite his protests that he could handle it, no one would let Henry take a shift. Hook didn't understand this; Henry seemed perfectly capable and was old enough to be a sailor. Indeed, he seemed to have a knack for sailing, much more so than the Royals, though that turned out to be because Killian had taught him how to sail over the years. Snow White was amicable enough and seemed to be willing to talk to Hook when they were on shift together. When he wasn't on shift at night, he attempted to sleep down in the crew's quarters, which he found less than comfortable. He would often lie in a hammock, eyes staring at the dark deck above him, listening to the waves and strong winds that were pushing them ever closer to the Crocodile.

There were two real reasons that he wasn't able to sleep. And both of those reasons were people. They occupied his thoughts, and often his dreams when he did manage to drift off. Sometimes they would appear in the dreams together, always with the result of an all-too-familiar ending.

Hook and Emma were sailing the Jolly Roger with his crew. They had taken some time to get used to her, but they eventually did. She had adjusted well to life as a pirate and they were happy. But then the sky would darken and the Crocodile would appear on deck, with that horrible grin on his face. Hook would attempt to protect Emma, fighting him with all his might, but no matter what he did, inevitably, the Dark One managed to take her heart. Holding her bright heart in his hand, he would walk up to Hook, hold it right before his eyes and crush it to dust with that terrible high-pitched giggle of his. The dust would fly away in the wind and Emma would collapse. The Crocodile would vanish in a puff of dark smoke, and Hook would be left holding Emma's lifeless body in his arms.

He jerked awake suddenly, the dream becoming a reoccurring nightmare. He hadn't had nightmares like this in years. Of course, he hadn't been so close to the Crocodile in years. He avoided dwelling on what the dreams meant in regard to Emma. Emma would never be his, of course. Not with his other self around. He had to focus on his other goal – his ONLY goal. He was closer to it than he'd ever been. If he could just figure out a way to ensnare the Dark One, it would all be worth it. It's true that he hadn't known that they would be planning to steal from the Crocodile when he'd insisted on joining them, but if that wasn't an sign that he was on the right path to achieve his goal, he didn't know what could be. He'd have to break away from the group somehow. Maybe his presence could even help them in their mission. If he could distract the Dark One from Emma and the others long enough, they might be able to get away clean.

The thief, Robin, claimed that he'd stolen from the Dark One more than once in years past. Hook wasn't sure how much he believed the man, but professional curtesy demanded he not question his claims. However, Hook was sure that between Robin, Killian, Emma, and the Queen, they could probably come closer than anyone ever has. _And Sparrow_ , Hook had to remind himself that the other Captain would be joining them too. His luck would undoubtedly be with them as well. Surely, between those five, they could pull off anything, even without Hook's help. And King David was well known to be an excellent swordsman; Queen Snow, too, had been a champion archer. Surely their doppelgängers from Storybrooke had similar skills. All in all, they were quite the team to steal anything from anyone, with a wide range of skills at their command, not to mention magic both light and dark. It was already determined that Elizabeth and Will Turner from Sparrow's crew were going to look after the baby – Snow and Emma in particular seemed inclined to trust them for some reason. Originally Henry was supposed to stay back as well, but he had protested to literally everyone (including Hook, strangely enough) and eventually, David, Snow, Robin, and Killian had managed to persuade Emma and the Queen that he was old enough to come. They also argued that he might even come in handy as he was something called "the Author," whatever that meant, plus being the Dark One's grandson, he might hold some persuasion. Being kin, Hook could understand, but how a writer could be useful in a mission to steal anything from anyone bewildered Hook, and no one seemed to want to explain.

Hook planned to help them steal the feather, but once that was accomplished, he was going to break away from the group and find the Crocodile and his dagger. And if the worst should happen, and the Dark One catches them in the process before they manage to steal the feather or get away, Hook would go after the imp alone, hopefully buying time for the others to get away.

On the third night of their journey, they were only a day away from the Crocodile's domain and Emma and the Queen had to stop using their magic to make the ships sail faster. Hook found himself paired with Snow while the other slept, for which he was grateful. The more he talked with the former Princess, the more he found that he liked the woman. She was surprisingly bold and wasn't afraid to speak her mind, yet at the same time she was kind, optimistic, and she gave people the benefit of the doubt. While he'd never met Queen Snow White, every depiction of her showed her with long black hair (or grey depending on how recent the image was). But this Snow had short hair, which he thought suited her.

"Evening Hook," she said as a greeting when she came up on deck. Emma followed her up with a lantern, having just woken her mother up. Seeing a mother and daughter at the same age was a very strange experience, but Hook was getting used to it.

"I'm going to bed, Mom," Emma said, giving her mother a slight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"G'nite, sweetheart. Sleep well," Snow responded sweetly. Hook watched this interaction, started to say good night to Emma, but stopped himself, when her eyes met his. She was daring him to say something. The memory of their last real conversation rang in his head and he wondered if he'd gotten into her head with his questions. He'd been sincere in his curiosity that night, but he wondered vaguely if his blunt flirtations had confused her. It occurred to him, not for the first time, that his alter ego had probably behaved very much the same way when they'd met. He nodded to her instead of saying anything and she nodded back, breaking their eye contact. She went over to open ladder down to the Captain's quarters and closed the latch after she descended.

It was a dark night, as there was no moon, and clouds were covering most of the sky. The occasional rain drop fell on his head and he stood on the bow and watched the water in silence. The Black Pearl was sailing along a few hundred yards ahead of them – he could just make out two lanterns still burning on deck.

Snow walked over to him, "Are you alright, Hook?"

"Fine, love. Why do you ask?"

"You've been quiet the last few days. I've been meaning to ask you, no one said anything to me, but I noticed that you had a nice shiner a few days ago – I think Emma must have healed it? That was the morning after you took a shift with David. Did he hit you?" She looked at him inquisitively. She didn't look annoyed or angry, or even sympathetic, merely curious.

"Aye," he said simply.

She nodded, having known the answer. "Dare I ask why?"

"I might have insinuated something to Emma and my other self that he didn't appreciate as a father," Hook responded vaguely, shrugging.

Again, Snow nodded. Then she chuckled, "You two make quite the pair." Hook blinked in surprised and looked down at the woman.

"Me and Dave, or me and… me?"

Snow continued to laugh and said, "both? You need to understand something about David and Killian. It took a long time for David to even trust Killian. He hated him from the get-go, only to discover that he was chasing Emma. Now, Emma may be over 30 at this point, but we've only known her for a few years. To David, she's still his little girl. Having a pirate courting your daughter, who in his mind is a princess, was hard for him to accept. Especially when she started to return those feelings. I don't think it was until Killian died for Emma, literally, that David fully accepted their relationship. And of course, at that point, Emma was heartbroken, and determined to get him back."

"Forgive my curiosity, love, but Emma's mentioned that situation a few times, where Killian died, but hasn't explained it. How did he die and come back? I've seen people revived after nearly drowning, was it something like that?" Hook asked, genuinely interested.

"That's a long and complicated story, Hook. The short version is that Killian sacrificed himself to destroy the Darkness, and save all of us, and he wound up in the Underworld. We followed him down there to rescue him," she explained. Hook's head was spinning. _Destroy the Darkness? The Underworld?_ How was any of that possible?

"Emma brought him back from the Underworld?" he finally asked incredulously.

"Not exactly, but the end result was that, yes, he was brought back," she nodded.

"So I – he – literally sacrificed his own life to save Emma's and that's when David began to trust him?"

"Well, even then… heck, even now, it's touch-and-go, but David knows that it's out of his control. If nothing else, David trusts that Killian would never do anything to hurt Emma, and in fact would do everything in his power to protect her. He knows that they love each other. He's accepted that. At this point he has no choice," Snow said, smiling to herself.

"What do you mean?"

Her smile faltered a little, "oh… never mind about that. Doesn't matter."

Hook raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. She was hiding something, and she wasn't very good at it, "You know, I knew that David and Killian were sharing a secret. I can see that you're in on it too. Feel like sharing?"

"We aren't in the Echo Caves," Snow said mischievously. "I don't have to share any secrets here." Hook stared at her in surprise. _The Echo Caves?_ Seems these people really have had quite a few adventures together. He wondered what secrets were spilled there, but held himself back from asking.

Their conversation lulled, and Snow sat down on the deck near the helm. She was humming to herself, but seemed to be keeping a careful watch around them. After a few hours, the sky began to lighten, but the clouds grew thicker. The rain was coming down regularly now and Snow had her hood up in an attempt to stay somewhat dry. It was nothing that bothered Hook however; he'd spent many days sailing in the rain. It wasn't long before Killian had gotten up and joined them on deck, ignoring the rain the same way Hook was.

"Morning," he said greeting them, though he seemed to be directing his words to Snow.

"Good morning, Killian," she responded cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

"Aye, much better now that…" he stopped mid-sentence and then changed his answer, "aye, I slept well."

"Now that you're with Emma again?" Snow guessed. Yes, she was definitely bold; and not uncomfortable talking about awkward topics. Killian scratched behind his ear and just nodded, avoiding her eyes. Snow however, smiled, "she still asleep?" Again, Killian just nodded. "Yeah, she never really was a morning person." She paused, looking at the sky, "whaddaya think? Does this weather bode well for us, or is this a bad omen? You're both the superstitious types."

Hook raised both eyebrows and looked at Killian who was mirroring his movements and expressions. Killian turned back to Snow and said, "well, I've always thought of rain as a good thing. It means wind and fresh water, two things that all sailors need. As long as…"

Hook finished his sentence, "As long as it doesn't become a tempest." He had been about to say the exact same thing that Killian had. This was a strange feeling.

Snow laughed, looking from one man to the other, "I think you two are more alike than anyone's willing to admit."

"Who's admitting what now?" Henry asked, coming up on deck. He looked up at the sky, frowning as the rain began to soak through his clothes, and grumbled. He turned to Snow, "Think Mom can conjure an umbrella?" As if that was her cue, the Queen appeared on deck in a cloud of purple smoke. "Ah perfect," he said grinning. He hugged his mother and then looked up at her and asked, "any chance you could poof up an umbrella?"

The Queen smiled at her son and waved a hand, an umbrella handle suddenly in her grasp and open above her and Henry's heads.

"The rain won't hurt you," Killian and Hook said together. _Not again!_ This phenomenon seemed to be happening the more often Killian and Hook were together and it was beginning to become aggravating. Hook heard Killian groan and his eyes flick in his direction, but neither said anything else. The Queen and Henry were both looking at them in surprise, but Snow was laughing again.

"How's the Black Pearl?" Snow asked the Queen, after she'd stopped laughing.

"Full of annoying pirates," the Queen responded, sounding frustrated. "Thank god that this will be our last day of sailing. If I have to hear Sparrow slurring his words for much longer, I'm going to burn his stupid boat down."

"It can't be _that_ bad," Snow said, watching the other woman. "Will and Elizabeth are nice. And Robin's with you, of course…"

The Queen broke their eye contact, and seemed to retreat into herself somewhat. "He's not real, Snow."

"What?" Snow asked, sounding both shocked and saddened. "Of course he's real. At least you get to see him again." _Again? What was going on there?_ Hook wondered to himself. The Queen's jaw clenched and she handed the umbrella to Henry, kissed him on the cheek and disappeared again. "Oh, _Regina…_ " Snow muttered sadly to herself. She walked over to Henry, stepping under the umbrella with him, and put an arm around his shoulders.

"He can't return with us, can he, Grandma?" Henry asked.

"No, I don't think so and I think that's the problem. She can't let herself hope that she might be able to get him back and it's probably killing her. This realm was created by a wish, there's no telling what would happen if someone from here tried to return with us. Besides, he has a life here," Snow explained. So, the Queen and the thief were in a relationship back in Storybrooke. That explained a lot. And they still weren't sure if the people here were even real. Hook knew that this was a question Emma had been dealing with when she'd first explained their situation to him. Of course, _he_ knew he was real. How could he not be? But if this realm really was created by a wish, and if someone from here tried to journey back with them, it might result in an paradox to disastrous consequences.

Hook shook his head. His life used to be simple: steal, pillage, drink, sleep. When did he have to start considering consequences? That was one of the best parts of being a pirate; there were no consequences. It all came back to Emma. That's when his life changed; when Emma came into it. Could that really have been less than a week ago? Was this what happened to Killian when he met her? Did she flip his life upside-down too or were there other factors?

Less than a week. And if all goes well, she would be gone from his life in a few more short days. _Well?_ _Was that the right word?_ Hook felt his heart start to pound in his chest and he walked over to the railing and looked out over the water. _I can't lose her!_ he suddenly realized with dread. He stared out over the water, trying to come to terms with what he'd known since he met her. He was falling for her, and he was falling for her fast. _But I can never have her… because she's already found her pirate._ What could he possibly do about that? Could he get rid of Killian and take his place without her noticing? He doubted it, though he was tempted.

"Took you long enough, mate," came his own voice in a growl from beside him. "And don't even think about it."

"What?" he asked, trying to sound like he didn't know exactly what Killian was talking about.

"I think I took the same amount of time to realize it. About a week, maybe less. I tried to kill her and she bested me – twice. How could I not fall in love with her?" Killian asked. "She mentioned that she might have gotten you in a precarious position when you first met as well; I knew it wouldn't take you long to follow my path. But I know you, Hook. You're me from just a few years ago and I know how you think. You're thinking about killing me and taking my place. And so, I say again… _mate_ … don't. even. think. about it," Killian turned to face him, his eyes narrowed. Hook stared at his doppelgänger. He knew… everything. Hook didn't say anything, but just stared at the other man.

After a minute, Killian blinked and looked behind him. Emma was coming up on deck. Both men watched her, and Hook couldn't help but admire the way that she moved; with confidence and grace. She looked around her, saw Henry with the umbrella first, grinned and then conjured her own. She kissed her son on the top of his head and then hugged her mother. She looked around again and saw Killian and Hook standing together, and she blinked in surprise. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, as though uncertain and then came over to join them.

"Hi," she said. She put her arm around Killian and kissed him, holding the umbrella high enough to cover both of them. "What's going on?" she asked turning to look at Hook.

"Nothing, love," they both said.

She looked from one to the other and then shook her head. "I just spoke to Regina and she thinks we should land sometime this morning. Then we'll have about half a day's trek to get to Rumple's castle. Supposedly, Robin knows of an underground entrance that is less heavily guarded than the front door. It'll still have magical traps on it, but not as many, so we're going to go in that way. Sound good?" Both men nodded. "Killian, can I talk to you real quick?" Killian took her hand and followed her down to the Captain's quarters.

It would be hard to get rid of a man who knew his thoughts… but it might be worth it… for her.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"That man is driving me crazy!" Emma breathed when Killian had followed her down the ladder.

Killian raised an eyebrow at her, "you know he's just like I was when you and I met?"

"Yea, and you drove me crazy then too," Emma pointed out. She was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but she held back.

Killian chuckled and then pulled her in for a kiss, "but you love me now." Emma returned his kiss briefly before pulling away and groaning at his words. "Just promise me one thing," Killian continued, still holding her, "that you won't fall for _that_ ruggedly handsome pirate too." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Not likely," she said. She regretfully pulled herself out of his embrace and sat down at the table. The ship was rocking as the wind picked up, and the rain was spattering loudly on the windows and on the deck above their heads. "I wanted to ask your opinion. And please don't mention it to any of the others, especially Regina."

Killian sat down at the table with her, and looked at her curiously, before he grinned, "and here I am thinking you just wanted some more _alone_ time… unfortunate…. But, okay. What's this about, love?"

"Robin." Both of Killian's eyebrows raised in surprise and she went on, "He's asked me if he can return to Storybrooke with us."

"Why? Does he not have a life here?"

"Regina mostly… I think," Emma said, answering his first question, and looking at the table sadly. "He says that he doesn't have anything here to stay for. Roland is a grown man here, but I don't even know if he _can_ come with us since he's a creation of the wish. I told him that he can try, but I'm worried that if he does it'll end badly for both of them. And I don't want to see Regina get hurt again."

"The Queen is made of stronger stuff than you give her credit for, Swan. I think if there's a chance, they should both try," Killian said smiling. "She deserves that much at least."

"I know, but…" she hesitated. "Do you think there is any way that we might be able to tip the scales in their favor? To make it more likely to work?"

"You mean a magical way?"

"I don't know, maybe…" Emma trailed off again. She felt like there was something she was forgetting. Something that would help them out and possibly resolve the issue, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. Killian was right, it was worth a try; and she owed it to Regina.

"Regina doesn't know that he wants to come back with us, does she?" Killian asked.

"No, Robin asked me not to say anything to her until it came time to leave." Killian nodded, comprehending the reasoning behind Emma and Robin's hesitance to not tell Regina. She looked into his eyes again, and saw understanding and love there. His arm was resting on the table and she grabbed his hook, like she was holding his hand. She grinned at him. "Sorry to bother you with this, but it's been on my mind the last few nights since we found a potential way home, and I wanted to get your take. Thank you, Killian."

"Of course, love. And I'll think on your question. Maybe there is something we can do to help Robin succeed in returning with us," Killian said. Emma nodded, still holding his hook.

They sat like that for several minutes before Killian got up, kissed the hand that still held his hook, and then headed back up on deck. Emma stayed where she was, thinking for quite a while. Mostly though, she didn't really feel like spending the morning in the cold rain. After a while, she got up and grabbed one of the books on Hook's shelf and randomly began to read. It was a historical text on sailors from Hook's realm, and it didn't hold her interest that closely, but it kept her occupied for the time being. After a couple hours, Killian came back down soaking wet, though he didn't seem to notice. Emma, who'd been lying in the bed reading, sat up and quickly moved the book out of the way, as he dripped in the room.

"Land," was all he said. _Finally_. She got up, put on her jacket and put the book back on its shelf. She then followed Killian up on deck where everyone was standing (or shivering) in the rain as they looked out over the water. Following their gaze, she saw that the Black Pearl had already dropped anchor and a small dinghy was being lowered to the water, 3 people clearly visible in it. Emma could practically feel Regina scowling at having to do all this without magic and in the rain, and she smiled to herself in amusement at the image. As the Jolly Roger pulled parallel with the other ship, Hook and Killian were preparing their own row boat, to usher the rest of them to shore. A plank was extended from the Black Pearl to the Jolly Roger as they stopped, their own anchor having also been lowered, and Will and Elizabeth came on board. They seemed cheerful as Snow gave them instructions for Neal and regretfully handed him over to them, trying not to let him get too wet in the rain.

"All aboard," Hook called. Emma, Hook, Killian, Henry, Snow, and David all piled into the little boat. It was a bit tight, but they all fit. When they were in the water, however, the boat sat a bit lower than Emma would normally have been comfortable with, but Hook reassured them that this craft was made of the same enchanted wood as the Jolly Roger, and they were perfectly safe. He then promptly began rowing them to shore where they would meet up with Regina, Robin, and Jack.

The wind and rain splashed them endlessly as they slowly made their way toward land. Emma deeply regretted not being able to use more magic, and pulled her jacket tightly around her. The umbrella she'd previously conjured would be no use in this wind; besides, she was already soaked through. Killian put his arm around her and pulled her close as they both attempted to stay warm. She noticed Hook eyeing them pensively as he rowed, and she carefully avoided making eye contact. Killian appeared to be focused on the shore, though he held her tightly.

Emma was starting to shiver, when a large wave hit their small boat, splashing her. She asked through gritted teeth how much longer it would take. Hook simply shrugged and said, "not long, love," and continued rowing. Their party didn't say much as they progressed through the water, too cold and wet to have any interest in conversation.

"What were you saying about a tempest?" Emma heard Snow mutter at one point. She looked at her mother curiously, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw both Hook and Killian briefly grin. Finally, after what felt like hours to Emma, though it was probably closer to 10 minutes, Killian jumped out of the boat, splashing in the shallows, and pulled them up on a small beach, where Regina, Robin, and Jack were waiting for them.

After helping everyone out of the boat, Killian made a show about sticking to Emma's side. She wondered if it was for Hook's benefit, but then she saw Killian watching Jack and she knew she'd guessed the wrong pirate. Jack was leaning casually against a tree, one foot pressed against its trunk, and his hat pulled down over his eyes, water spilling from its point. If she hadn't known that they were about to try to steal from the most dangerous man in the realm, she would have guessed he was completely at his leisure. Then again… maybe he was.

"So, we've got a bit of a trek through the woods," Regina told them as they met up. She put her arm around Henry, and looked at the others. "Do we have everything we need?"

"We'll probably be approaching the castle around dusk," Robin told them. "I would recommend we try to enter after nightfall." They all nodded in understanding.

"Henry, are you sure that you want to come with us. It could be extremely dangerous," Regina said, turning to her son.

"Mom, I'm coming," he said adamantly. Emma sighed regretfully, having been briefly hopeful that he might have changed his mind. But, of course, if she was honest with herself, she would have known that he never would have changed his mind. _He's too much like his father… and his grandparents… and me_ , she thought bitterly to herself.

"Well, then," Jack suddenly piped up from under his tree. He clapped his hands and bowed to Robin enthusiastically, "lead the way." Robin scowled at the man, but nodded, and began to walk into the trees. The rest of them followed. At least the wind and rain wouldn't be too bad under the canopy.

Several hours later, they were continuing on their hike much in the way it had started. Robin in the lead, followed by David and Snow (who had her bow at the ready), then Jack, Henry, Regina, Hook, Emma, and finally Killian. They were all tense, very aware of what they were about to attempt, and said little. They took short breaks every hour or so, to drink some water and stretch, but for the most part it was an extremely uneventful walk. While Killian, Hook, and Robin had originally entered the woods with their weapons out, the swords were eventually sheathed, and Robin's bow was now slung over his shoulder. Only Snow remained vigilant with her weapon, though the others would be able to draw their own very quickly in case of an ambush, which everyone seemed to be expecting.

Everyone except Emma. She had the weirdest feeling that they were being watched, but no matter what she did or where she looked, she couldn't see anything. She was still cold and wet, but the walking was helping. As the light began to dim, their pace slowed, and Emma wished she'd brought one of those lanterns from the ship. Though, that probably would have been spotted from far away if she'd lit it, so maybe it was better that it was left behind. Robin had brought torches that they could light once they were in the catacombs of the castle.

Finally, Robin stopped and as they all caught up to him, Emma could see a familiar looking building in the distance. She remembered it well from her journey into the past, and it looked exactly the same.

"Maybe he's not even home?" Henry suggested. Looking closer, it did appear that there were no lights in the windows, and no smoke coming from its many chimneys. But did the Dark One even really need light or heat? She remembered her tenure as the Dark One; she'd been able to see in darkness as easily as she could at midday and she couldn't remember ever being cold. And it wasn't like the Dark One needed sleep. No, this was going to be hit or miss. Either he was home or he wasn't. They wouldn't be able to tell one way or the other unless they actually ran into him. Emma silently prayed to any gods that might be listening that they didn't.

No one answered Henry's question, all of them knowing that it was wishful thinking and there was no point as they had no way of knowing… not yet anyway.

"C'mon," Robin finally said quietly. "This way." He turned them west and began walking along a ravine, the rest of them following in single file downhill. The rain appeared to finally be letting up, but the sun was completely down now, so they went slowly, as they couldn't see as well and they didn't want to fall into the ravine. Regina carefully watched her son in front of her. Eventually, before their party, Emma thought it looked like the ravine was bottoming out, but then they hit level ground and Robin was standing in front of what appeared to be a thick door that blended into the surrounding rock.

"Bloody hell, mate," Killian said to Robin. "How did you ever find this entrance?"

"Carefully," Robin said smiling. "Now everyone stand back." They did as they were told and Robin drew an arrow, carefully nocking it and drawing back, aiming at the door. The arrow was released and about to hit the center of the door when it suddenly burst into flame. A few people flinched at the event, but most of them were expecting it. Jack took a step forward reaching for the door, when Robin quickly said, "Wait!" He skillfully nocked another arrow and fired again, this time the arrow turned into stone and fell to the ground. "Huh," Robin mused. "That's new."

Jack, who'd swiftly retracted his hand at Robin's command, looked at the other man with wide eyes. "Is it safe now?"

"Let's find out," Robin drew a third arrow and this time it hit the door with a satisfying _thunk._ Jack seemed hesitant to try the door himself this time, and he graciously accepted Regina's offer to try it for him.

"Of course, darling," he slurred, motioning extravagantly to her, "ladies first, of course." Regina rolled her eyes and tried the door, but it was locked.

"I guess that's my cue," Emma said, pulling out a lock pick.

"Do you just carry that around with you?" Regina asked incredulously.

"You have your hobbies…" Emma grinned at her. She knelt down and began to work the lock. _It's all about the tumblers…_ She heard a distinctive _click_ and she stood up and turned the knob. The door still didn't open. "What the hell…" she mumbled. She started trying to force the door when Henry spoke up.

"Mom, wait," he said. "Can I try?"

"You think you can force the door open? Be my guest, kid," she said.

"No, I just think that maybe…" he reached around her and turned the knob. The door swung wide open. "Blood magic," Henry said grinning.

David gave Henry the "not bad" face and Regina smiled at her son.

"That's also new. There used to be only one door in this entire place sealed with what I can only assume is blood magic. The Dark One's clearly improved security – probably brought that on myself," Robin told them. "Since I've never seen a feather in any of the other vaults in this place, that's where we're going to attempt to break into this evening. Come along." He motioned for them all to follow him as he again took the lead into the catacombs of the Dark One's castle. When they were all inside, David asked if he should close the door again. "Yes," Robin answered. "Never leave any visible signs that you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be." He waved the stone arrow that he'd picked up on the way in at them. He then put the arrow back in his quiver, having no better place to store it.

"Good policy, mate," Hook said. Robin pulled out the torches he'd been carrying and began to attempt to light them with flint and steel.

"Here," David said, "Let me help." He pulled out a lighter and lit both torches quickly. Emma saw both Hook and Jack looking greedily at the lighter in David's hand.

"That's an interesting item, you've got there," Jack said, motioning with his hand.

"It's called a lighter," David smiled at the pirate and lit it again for show.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be using magic this close to the Crocodile, Dave?" Hook asked sounding slightly angry. David scowled at him.

Emma rolled her eyes, it was definitely time to get out of the Enchanted Forest. "It's not magic," she said simply, and she took one of the torches from Robin, who kept the other. Looking around, Emma saw that they were standing in a dark tunnel, cobwebs lining the walls and ceiling. It didn't look like the tunnel had been used in years. It was possible that was true, but it was also possible that it was only _supposed_ to look that way. The thought made her wary. Robin began walking down the tunnel and the others followed, the flickering light from the torches casting eerie shadows on the walls and occasionally setting fire to a cobweb that quickly smoked out.

After only a couple minutes of walking, they found themselves in a large cavern, and what Emma saw made her gasp. The walls were lined with rows upon rows of insets, all of which contained a human skeleton. She'd known Gold for years, and she'd known that he was a killer, but this…

"Are these all people that he's killed?" she heard herself asking. The others were all looking around in surprise too. All except Robin, Regina, and Jack, the latter of whom looked merely curious.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Regina shrugged. "He lived in this castle for centuries before any of us were born; it's possible the castle was something he acquired, as opposed to something he built; so it's possible this crypt was here before he was… but at the same time, it's possible that some or all of these people were his victims too."

"Some of us were alive before he claimed this castle," Killian pointed out. "It was here before he claimed it, belonged to some royal family if I recall correctly." Hook nodded in agreement.

"But why would he keep the bodies?" Jack asked interestedly.

"Please don't answer that question…" Henry muttered, looking nauseated. Regina glanced at her son sadly, and no one else said anything as they all continued to stare at the bodies around them. Emma noticed her mother had tears in her eyes. It was time to move on from this place.

"Which way?" Emma asked Robin. There were multiple doors leading out of the room, leading to what looked like more dark tunnels.

"Well," Robin considered. "That way leads up to the castle proper," he indicated the passage directly opposite the tunnel they'd come from. "So, I think it's best to avoid that. The other tunnels lead to various vaults and they all have other entrances into the main castle as well. That's the one we want to take, if we're going to try the vault I've never been able to get in to." He pointed to a tunnel to their left with his torch. He also looked at them all in turn to confirm that that was, in fact, the plan. They all nodded and he turned to face the tunnel he'd indicated. "Don't step on the tiles in the passageway. Only step on the dirt between them," he warned as he started forward.

Emma felt her nerves tingling and still couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Most of the others had already started toward the tunnel, eyes cautiously watching the ground under their feet, and only Emma and Hook were still standing still.

"Everything alright, love?" Hook asked her. She blinked and shook her head, realizing they were falling behind. Killian, having heard Hook, spun around and was watching them carefully. Emma nodded at Hook and started forward to catch up to the others. She fell in step behind Killian, who nodded to her before turning around and starting forward again. Once more Emma could feel eyes on her, only this time, she suspected they were Hook's, who was bringing up the rear.

Emma kept her eyes fixed on the ground. There were 1x1 foot tiles placed on the floor, seemingly at random, as though the person who'd done it gave up trying to make them evenly spaced and parallel. As instructed, she avoided stepping on them and only walked in between. She was also careful to keep an eye on her family in front of her. While she knew it was a bad idea to use it, she was ready to seize her magic immediately should anything happen. They passed many doors as they slowly walked, which they were told not to go near, and every once in a while Robin would instruct them to walk along the wall, or walk in a crouch without further explanation. He took multiple turns and it appeared that this place was a labyrinth that Robin knew well, and she was extremely grateful to have him along for this. Alone, she could have gotten lost for days down here, and probably would have gotten killed before she'd even lasted one. How he'd ever managed to map this place out with all its twists and turns (not even counting the hazards that he was helping them avoid), Emma couldn't begin to fathom. It appeared that he'd been truthful about having been here multiple times.

They walked for about 20 minutes, still avoiding the tiles and following strange patterns that only Robin seemed to know before he finally stopped in front of a large stone door. "Well, this is it," Robin said, speaking quietly. Emma wasn't sure if he was talking so low because of the atmosphere around them, or for some other reason but she followed suit.

"Are there any other hazards, before Henry tries the door?" she asked softly.

"Let's find out," Robin responded. He pulled out an arrow, but didn't fire it. Instead, he tossed it like a football at the door, where it exploded, flaming shards flying back at them. They all ducked, but fortunately no one accidently moved onto a tile. The arrow head did land on one, but nothing happened. Emma suspected that whatever they tripped, they were probably weight based so that a rat or flying arrow heads didn't set them off.

"Anything else, mate?" Jack asked, eyeing the flaming arrow head on the tile.

Robin repeated his test, but this time the arrow simply hit the stone and fell to the ground. He nodded and looked at Henry, "Should be safe to try, lad."

Henry nodded back and stepped up to the door, pressing his palm to the stone, which promptly melted away. The smell of stale air met their nostrils and Henry coughed. He began to step into the room, but Emma stopped him, pulling him back.

"Trip wire," she said pointing.

"Ah, memories," Killian said softly, smiling. Emma tried to scowl at him, but couldn't stop the grin that formed on her lips at the memory of their first adventure together. They all carefully stepped over the trip wire and then looked around. The room was enormous, with a ceiling over 20 feet above their heads. Dusty shelves lined the walls, with all sorts of things on them. Glancing around quickly, Emma didn't spot a feather.

"Any other traps we should be aware of before we start looking?" Emma asked Robin, still speaking quietly. They were all looking at him.

"Not that I know of. The traps have always been on the door or around it in every other vault I've been in. Still, it might be prudent to be cautious. Try not to touch anything if you can avoid it. We may have to look in boxes and the like, but if there are random objects around, I would suggest you leave them alone, this room wasn't warded with blood magic for nothing, I'm sure," Robin told them. They all nodded and began to spread out looking at different shelves. Emma stayed where she could keep Henry in her sights easily and Regina appeared to be doing the same thing. Killian was keeping close to her, but everyone else was on their own.

Emma chose a shelf at random and began to look at the objects it held. A cracked vase sat at eye level and an assortment of wands were sitting next to it. She wondered who they'd been taken from, but she decided it was probably better not knowing. The shelf above that held an assortment of jars, some empty, some containing various liquids, one of which looked suspiciously like blood. _The sooner we get out of here, the better,_ she thought. She knelt down to the look at the lower shelves, which contained several boxes, and a wide array of books and scrolls. Most of the boxes were too small to contain the feather they were looking for, so she didn't bother with them. One box, however, was long and narrow and she very carefully opened the lid, half expecting some dire event to occur. Nothing happened. She looked inside and gasped audibly.

Killian rushed to her side and everyone else looked up at her with looks on their faces ranging from curious, to anxious, to excited. "Henry, look!" she breathed. Henry came over and looked in the box too. He stared at the item and then reached for it as it began to glow. The Author's quill was choosing him for a second time. He pulled it out of the box, and then reached into his own pocket pulling out its twin.

"I don't think this is meant for me…" he said finally, still holding up both quills.

"What do you mean?" David asked, walking over and examining the items in Henry's hands. "It chose you, didn't it?"

"I think this was meant for Prince Henry. The Henry that belongs here," Henry explained. He turned urgently to his mothers. "We have to get this to him before we leave," he said insistently.

"Henry, I don't think…" Regina began, but Emma interrupted her.

"Regina…" she gave her friend a very significant look and Regina sighed. Emma continued, looking at Henry, "OK Henry. We'll get it to him."

"We still need the ink…" Henry said excitedly, he looked at a small box next to the first that had contained the quill. He opened it gingerly and, sure enough, inside contained an ink bottle. Henry took that too and repocketed his quill; then he put the second quill and the ink carefully into his bag, wrapping a scarf around them both for safe keeping. He grinned up at his mothers, who grinned back, Emma nodding. Moving on, everyone went back to searching and Emma closed the lids of the two boxes that were now empty.

She moved on to another shelf, ignoring the vast majority of the items and focusing on anything that might hold a feather.

"A ha!" cried Snow from the other side of the room a few minutes later. They all turned to her excitedly, but when they saw her face, she looked embarrassed. She was holding up what appeared to be a large white feather.

"Is that it?" Henry asked excitedly.

"No," Snow said, putting it back from where she'd found it, cheeks still red. "This is made of glass. It's not a real feather. Sorry."

They all resumed their searching. After nearly an hour of looking, they hadn't found anything else and Emma was starting to wondering if it wasn't here after all. There weren't too many shelves left to look through, and David and Jack had started looking through some chests that sat in the middle of the room. Just when Emma was about to suggest they look in another vault, Hook spoke up, "unless, I'm much mistaken, I believe I've found it."

They all spun to look at him and he was holding up a large white feather. This one was swaying gently, proving at least that it wasn't made of glass. Killian walked over to examine it, "Aye. This does look like the same feathers that made up the Pegasus sail, and correct me If I'm wrong, but is that a scorch mark on the tip?"

Hook looked at the tip of the feather, and sure enough, a small burn mark was visible. This must be the feather that survived the inferno that Killian had set the day he became a pirate. Both Killian and Hook were looking at the feather as though it was causing them pain and then Emma remembered; the day that Killian had become a pirate was also the day that Liam had died. She walked over to him and slipped her arm around his waist. He returned the gesture, still looking at the feather. The others walked over, also looking it.

Jack suddenly took the feather from Hook's hand and closely examined it. "Oy!" Hook said loudly, looking annoyed.

"Aye," Jack said cheerfully. "That'll do quite nicely."

"The bean, then," Emma said, holding out her hand. "We've fulfilled our end."

"Once we're back on me ship, I'll hand over the bean. You didn't really think I brought it with me, did you, darling?" Jack asked drunkenly.

Regina growled and then took the feather from Jack. "No bean, no feather, pirate. Once we have the bean, then you can get your feather and go. And good riddance," she added harshly.

"Regina!" Snow scolded.

"No, I've dealt with this _man_ for three days and I've had enough," Regina said fiercely. Hook and Killian both chuckled.

"OK, we've got the feather, now let's get out of here," Emma said turning to the door, but before she could take two steps, a cloud of black smoke enveloped them and when it cleared they were all standing in the Dark One's sitting room.

Rumpelstiltskin was sitting at the table, his feet up, grinning wickedly. He giggled maniacally. "Did you really think that you could steal from the Dark One and I wouldn't know about it?" he asked wickedly. He waved a hand and they were all suddenly frozen where they stood, unable to move. He removed his feet from the table and stood up, walking over to them, and plucking the feather from Regina's frozen grip. "I must say, I didn't think you were stupid enough to try something like this," he said to her.

Emma stared at the man in shock. She'd been right, they were being watched that entire time. "Why did you even let us get so far, if you knew we were in your vaults?" she asked, grateful that he was even letting them speak.

"Let them go, Crocodile," Killian said threateningly, before the Dark One could answer. "Keep me, but let everyone else go. I know how much you would enjoy that."

"Killian, no!" Emma said quickly.

Rumpelstiltskin eyed Killian curiously, then looked at Hook who was right next to him, "I will admit, having two of you instead of one would be twice the fun!" he sang the last words, enjoying the rhyme that he'd made. "But I think not. You steal from the Dark One, do you really think that I'd just let you go?"

"Let Henry go," Regina begged. "He's your grandson, you know that. Please, let him go."

"Begging, Your Majesty?" the Dark One teased. "That doesn't suite a queen." He put the feather down on the table and looked at them all in turn. "Now what to do with you all? I hate the pirates, of course – they'll have to die, slowly. The thief stole from me multiple times while I was imprisoned, I think isolation and starvation is the way to go there. The Charming's ruined my plans to have the dark curse cast, so I think torture, then death will do nicely."

"That wasn't us!" David objected.

"Don't care," the imp sang. He continued, "My grandson… well, I think I'd like to get to know him, so I'll keep him around. Maybe he could do me some favors with that lovely _quill_ he keeps so close to hand."

"Never gunna happen. And you're not my _real_ grandpa," Henry growled. Rumpelstiltskin ignored him.

"I don't know you, so I'm just going to assume I don't like you, and kill you quickly," he said to Jack who began to say that he could help him before Rumple waved his hand eliminating his ability to speak.

"That's an improvement at least," Regina said.

The Dark One looked at her, eyeing her curiously. "You were once a great evil in these parts, Your Majesty. You could be again. Feel like giving it a go?"

"Not particularly, you little imp," she shot back.

Rumple shrugged, "then death for you with the Charming's, I think." He then turned to Emma. "You are an interesting one," he told her. "Do I sense a little darkness in you?"

"That's long gone," Emma told him. "And F.Y.I. I only had the darkness in the first place because we had to take the darkness out of you, or it would have killed you. What we did saved your life." It was a long shot, and she knew it.

"Did it, now?" he asked, eyeing her with amusement. "For the Queen and Savior, I have something special in mind…"

But whatever special hell he had planned for Emma, they never got to find out, because suddenly, they could all move, and Blue had flown into the room, "Run!" she told them all.

"You pesky little bug," the Dark One growled, but his magic was being held in place by the blue fairy. She had her wand aimed at him, and her arm was shaking with the effort to hold him.

Suddenly, Emma found that Hook had grabbed her arm, "Run, take your family and run. I'll hold him off…"

"Wha—" but before she could even finish one word, Hook had kissed her, jumped forward, seizing the feather that was still on the table, thrust it into Emma's hands and pulled out a dagger, coated in something black. She watched as if in slow motion, as the Dark One broke free of the binding that the blue fairy had cast on him. He blew dark magic at her sending her far away, but not before Hook had raised the dagger, going for Rumpelstiltskin's heart.

In perfect unison, the Dark One reached out and pulled out Hook's heart as the dagger plunged into Rumpelstiltskin's chest. A blue shimmer appeared around his green tinted skin and he froze, still squeezing Hook's heart. Hook collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain.

"Hook!" Emma cried, running forward and kneeling at his side.

"Go!" Hook said to her. He was clutching at his chest, in clear agony. The Dark One had been a millisecond away from crushing his heart to dust when the squid ink that had coated Hook's dagger took effect, so it was still being squeezed relentlessly. "The squid ink won't last for long, but that's not the only thing on the dagger. Dreamshade. The squid ink will hold him long enough for you all to get away, and the Dreamshade will prevent him from following you for several days – at which point, I hope you'll be out of this realm." He was gasping for breath now, bent double with the pain.

"We'll take you with us!" Emma said. "He's frozen, we can take your heart back."

The Dark One giggled, despite his inability to move. "You can't take his heart back, dearie," he said. "I have it too tightly in my fist. Any attempt to remove it, and you'll crush it yourself. And since this is squid ink, no magic will work in making my hand release it." He giggled again, "Either way, this pirate is a dead man."

"No!" Emma cried, realizing that she was, in fact, crying. "There has to be a way!" she turned to face the others who were looking down at them pityingly.

"Go, love," Hook said through gasping breaths, attempting, and failing, to push her away. "Have a good life for me."

"He's right, Emma," Regina said. "We don't have a lot of time. We have to be far enough away that he can't track us on foot before the squid ink wears off."

Killian was kneeling beside Emma now and looking down at his doppelganger who had sacrificed himself for them all. "Thank you, brother" was all he said.

"Love her," Hook told him, before he finally passed out from the pain, though his body continued to seize.

"Let's go, Emma," Killian said, pulling her up. She was crying and Killian had to force her fingers open to release Hook's hand. "Let's get out of here," he said to the others and they all turned to the door and ran. Emma followed along, though she was still hanging on to Killian. She had to focus. She still had Killian, she still had Henry and her parents. And finally, Hook proved that he was a good and honorable man after all.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

As soon as they were outside the castle, Regina waved her hand and they were suddenly back on the Jolly Roger. It was still dark out, but it was no longer raining. Emma was still crying, but she was also still holding the feather, Killian realized gratefully. Looking around him, he saw that Snow was silently crying too, though he suspected that was probably more for Emma's sake than for Hook's. Killian himself wasn't sure how he felt about the death of his twin; conflicted, he supposed. In the end, Hook had proved that he was the good man that Killian and Emma had hoped that he could be. He risked his life for all of them, though Emma more than the others, probably. Either way, if it hadn't been for him, none of them would have gotten away.

Hook had kissed Emma too, Killian hadn't missed that. But it was a goodbye kiss and everyone who'd seen it knew it. In that moment, Hook had known he was likely going to die and he wanted to express his feelings in the only way he had time to do. Killian didn't like it, but he understood it; he would have done the same thing. Just like Killian, Hook had fallen in love with Emma in only a few days. He'd called him "brother" in the end, and he'd meant it. Hook had proved that he was the same man as Killian despite their differences.

Emma, who Killian was still holding, attempted to wipe away her tears and straighten up a bit. She looked slightly embarrassed at her breakdown, though she hid it well. Killian held her tighter, grateful for the dark that hid her tears from the others.

"We should do what we need to do, and quickly; the squid ink will hold Rumple only so long," Regina said, getting down to business. "The Dreamshade will hold him off longer, but he'll eventually recover from that too. Personally, I think we should all be out of this realm before that happens."

"You're back!" came a voice from behind them. Elizabeth and Will were coming up the ladder, Neal sound asleep in Will's arms. "Did you get it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Aye, love, we got it," Killian said.

"But not without casualties," Emma said softly.

Elizabeth gasped and looked at each face closely, holding up a lantern to see better. "Hook?" she asked softly, unsure which of the doppelgangers had failed to return. Killian nodded. "What happened?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter, he saved us," Emma said, resolve in her voice. She turned to Jack. "Now, the bean, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Ms. Swan," he said, sounding strangely formal. His fingers were floating in midair again, and he looked as though he wanted to hug her, but held himself back. "Elizabeth?" Elizabeth reached into a small pocket that was barely visible on her skirt and pulled out what was clearly a magic bean. Emma handed Jack the feather, and Elizabeth handed Emma the bean. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you ladies and gentlemen, but if you don't mind, I think I'm going to get me and me crew out of this realm before the Dark One decides to track us down too. What's that Storybrooke realm of yours like?"

"Don't even think about it," Regina threatened.

Jack raised his hands in surrender, bowed to Emma and the Charmings before turning to Killian, "It's been an honor, Captain."

"Let's not do this again," Killian said, still hating the man. Jack chuckled.

Will then handed Neal back to David, while Elizabeth hugged Snow, Emma, Regina, Robin, and Henry, before waving to the others who she didn't get to know as well. Will and Robin grasped forearms in respect, and then the Turners were headed back on board the Black Pearl. Jack turned to Emma, "how about a hug darling?" he said, clearly unable to resist and opening his arms wide. Killian stepped in front of her though and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed. Jack eyed Snow, his arms still open, and out of the corner of his eye Killian saw David do this same thing. Snow rolled her eyes at her husband. Finally, Jack turned to Regina, who gave him the "I dare you" look.

Jack shrugged, bowed to Henry and David, and then went over to the Black Pearl too. Once on his ship, he call back to them, "don't forget about me, Emma, darling! Captain Jack Sparrow will always be there for a beautiful woman when she needs him!" and then the plank connecting the two ships was removed and the Black Pearl was quickly sailing away into the night.

"Let's get going," Regina said.

"Mom," Henry objected, reaching into his bag and unwrapping the quill and ink from his scarf. "You promised we could bring the quill to Prince Henry."

"Right…" she waved a hand, and the whole ship vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing in front of the port by the Royal Castle. She waved a hand again, eyeing the nearby castle carefully and waved her hand a second time. The quill and ink disappeared from Henry's hand.

"We couldn't just bring it to him?" Henry asked.

"Not a good idea. Plus I'm still not sure how much time we have – the sooner we're gone the better. And the longer we're away, the harder it will be for the Dark One to track us using magical methods. Don't worry, I put the quill and ink on a desk in his room, and a note explaining its appearance. It should choose him once he finds it," Regina explained.

"You sure about that?" he asked.

"Absolutely," she said. "Now, let's go home."

"Right, we've been gone way too long," David said. "I hope that Gideon didn't cause any trouble while we were gone." Killian sighed; he'd almost forgotten about Gideon and Gold back in Storybrooke. Hopefully, Gideon was still locked up, though something inside him doubted it.

"Let's take the ship, Hook won't need it anymore," Killian said. This, of course, would mean having two Jolly Roger's in Storybrooke. He glanced at Emma; she was looking at the deck, not meeting his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have phrased it like that?

"Can we even take the ship? If it's part of this realm, it probably can't return with us," Henry asked. "Cause nothing here is real, right?" he turned to his mothers and Killian realized that Emma and Regina were now both looking at Robin.

"You should go, Robin," Regina said, sounding pained. "Is there somewhere you'd like me to send you?"

"Emma?" Robin asked and Killian knew what he was asking of her. Regina was looking back and forth between Emma and Robin, trying to understand the silent conversation that the two were having. Snow walked over to Regina and put her arm around her and surprisingly, Regina allowed it.

"What's going on here? Robin, where should I send you?" Regina asked again.

"Emma?" Robin repeated.

"More real…." Emma said quietly to herself, though Killian could hear her. Her eyes were unfocused and a wondrous expression slowly grew on her face.

"What?" David asked, sounding confused.

"More real," Emma repeated, more confidently. "In case we need 'a little something more real.'" Emma's eyes widened, looking at them all. "That's it!" she sounded excited now.

"You figured it out?" Killian asked. He glanced at Robin, who was staring at Emma with hope in his eyes. Everyone else was also staring at her, although they just all looked confused.

"Figured what out?" Regina said, starting to sound annoyed. "Emma, what are you going on about?"

But instead of answering her, Emma reached into her bag and pulled out a vial of what was clearly blue fairy dust. "I almost forgot about it! Blue said that I should use this if we need 'a little something more real.' Robin! She was talking about you! So you can come with us," Emma explained, gesturing wildly with the vial.

"What?" Regina said loudly, sounding shocked.

"It's not enough for the ship, but it's plenty for Robin," Emma said, more to herself than anyone else.

"Wait a minute," Regina said. "You want to come with us?" she turned to Robin, looking conflicted.

"I had asked Emma if it would be possible to join you," Robin explained, not meeting her eyes. "But we weren't sure if I would be able to given how this realm was created, so I asked her not to say anything." Then Robin turned to Emma, "Do you think that would really work?"

"I'm certain of it," Emma said sounding confident.

"Then let's get out of here," Robin said, grinning.

Emma pulled the stopper from the vial and poured the fairy dust over Robin's head. Nothing visible seemed to happen to Killian's eyes and he wondered if it had worked. Robin looked uncertain too eyeing Emma, but she looked pleased.

"Everyone got everything?" Emma asked and everyone nodded, except for Regina who was staring at Robin uncertainly. "We'll have to jump." Emma tossed the bean into the sea next to the ship. The portal opened, water and wind swirling into a large whirlpool, and they all climbed up on the railing of the Jolly Roger. Emma took Henry and Killian's hands and as one, they all jumped, the swirling vortex surrounding them as they fell through. Killian gripped Emma's hand tightly, closing his eyes at the green light that always seemed to encompass portals.

Killian felt his feet hit the hard ground and he landed with a grunt, allowing his knees to bend and take the force of the impact, so he didn't fall over. He was still holding Emma's hand as he straightened up, opened his eyes and looked around.

They were back in Storybrooke.

They were all standing on the street outside of Granny's, but something was very off and they all knew it. There was a static charge in the air, and it was eerily quiet. It was still early morning here, and the sun hadn't yet risen. Killian gripped Emma's hand tighter looking around. He was relieved to see that Robin had made it back with them.

"Something's wrong," Regina said unnecessarily.

"What a strange land," Robin said quietly to himself looking around, but no one said anything else.

They looked around trying to ascertain what it was that they were all sensing, but then they heard footsteps behind them. They all turned and saw a robed figure walking toward them with a sword. Gold was floating in the air in front of him, immobile and seemingly unconscious.

"Gideon?" David guessed.

The robed figure didn't confirm it or deny it, but instead raised a sword and said, "I'm leaving now. If you get in my way, I'll be forced to stop you." It was definitely Gideon.

"No," Emma said stepping forward, releasing Killian and Henry's hands. "I've already lost one person today, I'm not about to lose another. Not even him." She raised a hand, but then suddenly froze. Watching her carefully, Killian saw that her hand had begun shaking and she was grasping the wrist with her other hand, staring at it. She'd had no problems with her magic in the other realm, but apparently coming back, the issue had returned. And, with a chill, Killian realized that this was the beginning of the final battle that she had foreseen.

Killian was not going to let her die. Not after everything they'd done to get her home. He rushed forward, taking her hand and staring at Gideon, but unable to see his face.

"You must be the Savior that I've heard so much about," Gideon said, ignoring Killian. "I think it's time that you and I had our first and last dance. You know what this is as well as I do, Savior. You will not survive the day."

Suddenly he was swinging his sword at Emma. Emma released Killian's hand quickly, grabbed his sword from its sheath and pushed him back into the others with magic, just in time to block his blow. Killian felt himself flying backward into the others, knocking over Snow, David, and Henry.

"Regina!" Emma called, while swinging her own sword at Gideon now. "Get Gold and the others out of here!" Regina didn't need to be asked twice. She waved her hand, and Killian suddenly found himself in the back of Gold's shop with all the others.

"No!" Killian and David both screamed. The two of them quickly rushed out of the shop, closely followed by Henry and Snow. Regina and Robin stayed back to check on Gold. Killian didn't care if he was alive or not. This was the prophesied battle where Emma was supposed to die, and Killian was not going to let that happen. It only took them a couple minutes to run back to where they'd been, but Emma was not doing well.

She was clearly fighting for her life, and Gideon seemed to be at his ease. She parried another blow, but the strength of it pushed her to one knee. She released one hand from her sword, looking like she was going to try to use her magic against the man, but her hand started shaking again.

"Swan!" Killian cried rushing forward. Gideon knocked Emma's sword away with ease and was raising his own sword to take the final blow. Time seemed to stop as Killian watched his true love about to be taken from him. He started to run forward, but it felt like he couldn't move his feet. The sword was inching closer to her and in the back of his mind, Killian wondered if this was a dream – a nightmare and that's why time had slowed down. But no, he could feel the ground under his feet. He could feel the wind on his face. And he could feel the few seconds that Emma had left in his heart. She was about to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.

And then an arrow appeared in Gideon's chest. Time started again, but everyone on the street froze as they all stared at the arrow protruding from Gideon. The hood on his robe fell backward, exposing his face, and he looked just as confused and surprised as the rest of them. Emma was still on her knees in front of him, her eyes wide.

 _What the bloody hell just happened?_

And then a voice rang out in the night, "I don't take kindly to people trying to kill my friends." It was Robin and he was walking forward, his bow in his hand and another arrow nocked, ready to shoot, aimed at Gideon.

Gideon stared at the man confused. He fell to his knees and looked up at Robin who was now standing over Emma protectively. Killian finally managed to reach Emma, putting an arm around her and pulling her away from the man. "Who are you? And how can you be here? This battle was foretold, and you shouldn't be here."

Robin smiled down at Gideon, his arrow still trained on him. "You are correct, sir, I couldn't possibly be here. Because I'm not real…" and Robin released the second arrow. Gideon fell to the ground, dead.

"Robin," Emma said quietly. They were all staring at him.

"Robin!" came Regina's anxious voice. She ran up to them all, and then she was staring down at Gideon's body. "What happened?"

"He saved her," David said, mouth open, a look of awe on his face. Snow had gone around to the other side of Emma, and together, Killian and Snow lifted her back up to her feet.

"I wasn't supposed to survive this battle," Emma said, still looking at him. "But you weren't supposed to be here."

"Why do I get the impression that I've done something I shouldn't have?" Robin asked them all, sounding confused.

"Because you did," came another voice. It appeared that Gold had woken up and was also joining them. He looked down at his son's body, a mixture of disgust and pain on his face. "This battle was foretold; and Savior's always die as martyrs. It's their fate. But you, Robin Hood, weren't meant to be here, since last I checked you were dead. So, by being here, you've changed everything," Gold explained. "And I've lost another son," he added bitterly. "But seeing how he was trying to bring me to my mother to be killed, I'm afraid I can't grieve him the way I wish I could. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must break this news to Belle."

Gold turned and started to walk away from them before he stopped, turned back holding out his hand, "The Sorcerer's Wand, if you please."

Unbelievable, this man just saw his son killed by a man he'd believed dead and didn't bat an eye; in fact, he was still so focused as to want to fulfill deals at the moment. Nevertheless, David reached into his pocket, pulled out the wand and handed it back to Gold. Gold nodded, turned again and left without another word.

Killian turned back to Emma who was now staring at Gideon's body. "Are you okay, love?" he asked her, holding her tightly.

"Yea, I guess so," she looked at her hand, which was not shaking any longer. She moved it experimentally and colorful waves of magic appeared in the air above it. "It looks like my magic is back to normal too." She looked at Robin, "Guess I should thank you for saving my life… and you know… defying prophecy." She smiled at him. Killian felt a smile form on his face too, looking back at Robin.

Robin smiled back at her and said, "I should be thanking you. You helped me in coming here. You defied your own prophecy by bringing me with you, Your Highness."

"Call me Emma," she said, laughing. It looked like the weight of the world was suddenly off her shoulders. She hugged her parents and Henry, all of whom looked extremely happy and relieved. Then she turned to Killian, "let's go home." And he nodded, still holding her, with no plans of ever letting go.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

Emma opened her eyes to bright sunlight streaming through her windows. Looking around, she was relieved to see that she was home. Finally. Checking her phone, she saw that is was almost 1 in the afternoon and Killian wasn't there. She stretched and sat up, letting the soft comforter fall into her lap.

"Look who's finally up." Killian was walking into the room holding a tray. He looked perfectly rested and very happy. "And just in time for breakfast."

"Breakfast? It's 1:00," Emma pointed out. Killian shrugged.

He sat on the bed next to her and put the tray on her lap. There were eggs, pancakes, bacon, juice, and most importantly coffee. Yes, she was definitely happy to be home. Her magic was back and the final battle had been won. She might even get a full week to relax before some other disaster hits Storybrooke. She smiled at the thought as she sipped her coffee.

"You look happy," Killian observed.

"I feel happy," she said. She picked up the tray and put it on the side table. This gave her easy access to throw her arms around Killian and kiss him. He laughed at her reaction and kissed her back, holding her tightly. Though, for some reason, his hand was in a fist on her back. What was that about?

She pulled away from him and looked at his hand. It was still in a fist. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, albeit jokingly, at him. "What's in your hand?"

"The future," he responded smiling. He opened his palm to reveal a diamond ring. She stared at it, and then at him, her eyes wide and her mind blank. He took her hand and then got down on one knee. Was this really happening? Could she steal be asleep? What in the holy hell….

"Emma Swan, I love you. Will you –"

"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly, interrupting him.

"—let me finish, please?" He raised a teasing eyebrow at her, grinning and still holding up the ring. She grinned back, feeling her face grow hot.

"Sorry. Continue."

"Emma Swan, will you marry me?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said again, bouncing on the bed in excitement. He grinned and they both stood up, embracing passionately. He pulled away from her and held out the ring. She held out her left hand, and he slipped the ring on her finger. It was shining up at them, as though it too was happy to be home.

"Get dressed, love. Everyone's waiting," Killian told her.

"Waiting?" she asked, still grinning.

"Celebratory lunch at Granny's. That breakfast I brought you is cold, to be honest. I've been waiting for you to wake up for hours," he explained. She laughed and threw her arms around him again.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you too. Now, seriously, Swan – get dressed."

Emma took longer to get ready to go than she should have, but she couldn't help enjoying the shower – it being her first in weeks – especially after Killian slipped into the shower with her, distracting her further.

She hummed as she shipped on her coffee, enjoying the short drive to Granny's, Killian in the passenger seat. As she pulled in front of the diner, she could see that the place was clearly crowded. How long had they been waiting for her? she wondered vaguely, not particularly caring. The sleep, shower, and Killian were worth it. She glanced down at her ring, smiling to herself as she got out of the car. They were engaged, and she was happy.

They walked into the diner to cheers. Her parents and Henry were already there, as were all the dwarfs, Archie, and Granny. She could see Regina and Robin near the back talking by the jukebox, though Regina grinned and held up her glass to her when she walked in.

Snow walked up to her and gave her a hug. But before Emma could say anything, Snow grabbed her hand and gasped.

"You said yes!" she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Everyone!" Snow turned to the entire crowd, grinning from ear to ear as Emma and Killian both turned bright red. "Emma said yes!" she shouted, holding Emma's hand up in the air above their heads to display the ring.

There was another outburst of cheers and Emma and Killian found themselves being hugged and congratulated by the entire restaurant. David and Henry hugged Emma tightly, congratulating both her and Killian. Neither of them looked particularly surprised.

"You knew?" she asked them.

"I might've talked to them before we came to get you in the wish realm," Killian explained. The three men all smiled, and Killian slipped a hand around her waist as they walked through the restaurant to more "congrats" and claps on the back. When they reached Regina and Robin, Regina hugged Emma tightly.

"I'm so happy for you Emma. Congratulations," Regina said. Then, surprising everyone, she hugged Killian too. Killian looked stunned, but hugged her back anyway.

Robin bowed to Emma, also expressing his joy at their engagement and he clasped forearms with Killian, both men nodding to each other.

"Emma, I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but can I have a word?" Regina asked Emma quietly, pulling her away from Killian, Robin, and everyone else.

"Sure," Emma said, a little concerned. Regina pulled Emma into the back hall and watched the entrance carefully to make sure no one had followed them. "Regina, what's this about?"

"It's Robin," she explained. "I don't know what to do about him now. I didn't allow myself to get too close to him in the wish realm, because I thought I wouldn't have to be around him for very long, and that I would never see him again. But know that he's here, I don't…" she trailed off.

"If he wants to be with you, Regina, and you want to be with him," Emma said, smiling at her friend, "take my advice, don't fight it. Be together."

"But I feel like I'm betraying Robin. My Robin, I mean – his memory or whatever. You know what I mean." She sounded flustered and confused.

"If meeting Killian's twin, his wish realm self, has taught me anything, Regina, it's that even if he's not the exact same man you knew, he can still care for you just as much. If you think you can care for this Robin too, don't waste it. Robin would understand, and he'd want you to be happy," Emma smiled, squeezed Regina's hand in support and headed back into the party.

Killian and Robin were waiting for them as they reemerged, looking concerned.

"Everything okay, love?" Killian asked. Emma just smiled at him and slipped an arm around him, holding him tightly.

"C'mon, let's get back to the party. I'm starving," she said.

Soon after, Gold and Belle both came in, Gold looking less than pleased at the crowd, and Belle looking heartbroken. Gold avoided all of them and left quickly, but Belle exclaimed happily at the news of Emma and Killian's engagement, though her happiness was short-lived and she quickly left too. There was a slight awkwardness in the party after that, though it was soon replaced by joviality once again.

The next few hours were a happy blur to Emma. People congratulating her and Killian. Emma ate at least four of Granny's grilled cheese sandwiches plus some of Regina's lasagna. Emma was surprised that David even seemed genuinely happy for her, knowing how he felt about Killian, which made her even happier.

When it started to become dark out, and the party was finally starting to wind down, there weren't many people left. The dwarfs had left, Doc and Sneezy holding up a drunken Grumpy. Granny was starting to clean up, and most of the people who were left were at the bar, talking cheerfully. Regina and Robin were in the back talking by the jukebox again, and David and Snow were happily arguing over wedding plans. Henry and Violet were in their own booth, holding hands and laughing. Emma was happy to see them still getting along.

Emma was leaning on Killian across from her parents. While they continued to fight over where to have the wedding (Snow wanted a small gathering at Granny's, but David insisted that they have a big event at the town hall), Emma and Killian sat in silence, holding hands, her head resting tiredly on his shoulder. Both were smiling happily. Emma felt at peace. This was what life was about. Looking past her parents, she grinned when she saw Robin and Regina kiss.

She squeezed Killian's hand and he kissed the top of her head. Looking around her, she saw her family, home, safe, and whole. What else could they possibly need? Emma smiled.

The End

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed this story! I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I would love to hear some reviews, comments, questions or critiques (hopefully not too harsh :D ). Please let me know what you thought. I know there are a few typos, though I did my best to fix those when proofreading. Sorry about that. If you think anyone seemed out of character, or something didn't make sense, let me know. I enjoy writing but this is the first of my stories that I've put online, so I'm not sure what other people will think. Any advice or comments that might help me improve would be greatly appreciated!**

 **Again, thanks for sticking along with this story and I hope you enjoyed it! :-)**


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